Dinosaur: Extinction Lasts Forever
by Darksage95
Summary: It has been months since Hazel had returned from her solo mission and left her prehistoric friends behind for the present. Now, joined by Nigel, they return to the past, intent on rescuing the herd from the meteor. But good intentions always come with a price, as Hazel is haunted by the choice of telling her friends the truth…or risking everything she loves with lies.
1. Skeletons in the Closet

_Hello everyone! Darksage here…back and more pumped up than ever! Well here it is folks, the start of part 2. I know I did say that I was going to be MIA for a while, but I just wanted to get this part out of the way first._ _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park. Just the characters I created.**_ _This chapter is going to be a little short, but I hope you like it. Enjoy!_

 _ **Soundtrack: Prehistoric Park Opening/A Beautiful Day by Daniel Pemberton**_

 _There is something missing from our world. The amazing animals that time has left behind. But what if we can bring them back? What if extinction didn't have to be forever? We're going back in time on a safari with a difference, as wild life adventurer Nigel Marven plunges into pre-history to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance. Last time, Nigel sent Hazel, the park's youngest recruit, back in time to find and rescue a herd of dinosaurs. Now, months later, she…along with Nigel, return with the goal to rescue them, before the destined meteor hits. Welcome to the ultimate wild life sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park._

The engine of the jeep roared to life as Nigel turned the key. The vehicle let out a surprising vroom before quieting down a bit. The jeep, which was colored grey and contained the Prehistoric Park logo, had seen its fair share of action. This was his favorite jeep, because it was his first one and would sometimes bring it on his retrieving missions.

Nigel sped forward from the forest edge he was at. This morning, he and a few other workers had made a startling discovery deep in the forest line. This was one that not only would change how people thought about prehistory, but also one that a certain someone would need to know about. He pressed the pedal a little harder and the speed he was at went from 10 miles to 40 in a few seconds.

The day was fair. It was partly cloudy and temperatures were in the mid 70's. It was high noon and the wind was calm. This was perfect weather for the middle half of the spring season. Nigel had run this park for years, and experience has taught him that this season is the busiest time. For a number of the animals at this sanctuary, this was the time for mating. The park creator knew that it was only a matter of time before new additions would arrive, which means that the faculty would need to document them and maybe do a few upgrades on the exhibits.

Nigel was in a rush though. He did not even stop by the elephant herd when he passed by them. The females, and Martha, were grazing at the usual greenery rich spot on Mammoth Mount. A few years back, Nigel had rescued Martha from the Ice Age and nursed her back to health. She had encountered a few bumps along the way, but now, she was not only a loyal member of the herd, but also a sister. These were not the only elephants the park had, for they also kept a few male elephants on the other side of the park in a separate enclosure. Prehistoric Park was not only a sanctuary for prehistoric animals, but also for various endangered species.

It was not long before he had reached one of the newer exhibits in the park. It was medium sized and contained the tree species it fed on when Nigel found it in prehistoric Mongolia. The trees were fan-like and had small green leaves in clusters at the very end. Soon, more of the same type of creature appeared from the left to graze on the treetops.

The Therizinosaurs were tall and had a long neck, like a sauropod, yet they had three sharp claws on each arm, just like a therapod. They also stood on two legs, which added to their height. There were four in the enclosure; two females and two males. All of them had feathers all over their bodies, with a few minor differences for the sexes. The males were brightly plumed with a bright orange tint like a sunset along their backs while the rest of their bodies were a light teal. They even had white stripes along their tail. As for the females, they retained the stripes on their tails, but their feather color was more of a light grey. The residents were busy feeding and paid no mind as he sped along.

Once he was a considerable distance away from them, Nigel stopped the jeep and turned off the engine with a flick of the key. He had parked near a set of bushes and trees, which also bordered along a large pond. The pond had a wooden boardwalk at the very edge and in front of the man. Nigel treaded quickly, yet carefully, along Deinosuchus Dip. Just because the water looked calm and no gators were out does not mean he was in the safe zone.

Nigel walked cautiously and even looked at the pond for any large reptiles coming at him, specifically the Deinosuchus he had rescued a few years back. Thankfully, none of them were out. Once he had reached the other side of the bridge, he broke into a sprint and towards the direction of the holding pens.

He skidded to a stop when he caught sight of head keeper Bob passing by him. The bald man in the green park uniform stared down at a clipboard and scribbled something with a pencil. Nigel did not know what it was, but he guessed it to be the checklist for the day.

Nigel turned and called out to him. "Oi, Bob!"

The man stopped and looked back, only to see a gasping Nigel take in a few breaths after running for a bit. "Oh, Nigel. Didn't see you there."

"Sorry to disturb you from your work, but have you seen Hazel?"

Bob lowered the clipboard and shrugged his shoulders. "No, but I think I saw her pass by here about an hour ago. I think she was headed to T-rex hill. Don't know why she would be there. And I certainly don't know why you and she begged me to set up a barrier wall smack down the middle of the exhibit. Or even as to why you had me put Matilda back in there!"

Nigel rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle. "Well…it's Hazel's idea. She told me that she had a way to get the siblings to get along. Even I don't know what her strategy is, but she did say that it will work."

The keeper nodded nonchalantly and snorted. "Oh…okay. And this idea involves glorified dog collars?"

The explorer raised his hands up in a confused gesture. "Don't know about that either."

The man with the mustache shook his head and walked away. "Well whatever idea she's got, it better work!"

With that said, Nigel turned away and sprinted again. He did not stop by the holding pens or even the Titanosaurs when he went by them. He even let out a chuckle when he saw a group of the workers speed by on jeeps towards one of them. It had been eating at one of the trees planted nearby and, judging from the looks of it, had broken their enclosure fence a little while back. The younger employees were letting out yells telling the immense sauropod to stop, but it paid no mind to them.

Nigel reached for the black walkie talkie that was hooked onto his belt on his right and brought it close to his mouth. He had pressed one of the buttons and the device activated.

"Bob…looks like we've got a large problem next to the holding pens. And believe me, you're going to have a lot of fun with this one."

Once he said that, he placed the communicator back to where it was and continued on his way to the paddock that held the kings of the dinosaurs.

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Hazel let out an exasperated sigh. She had spent the last hour or so at the Rex compound and wished that the ordeal would end soon. The day was not that hot, so she had decided to wear a grey athletic short-sleeved hoodie that had two rope strands that feel from the collar. Her hair was even cut short for a change. The style was long in the front while it got shorter towards the back. Hazel also wore knee length denim shorts and black tennis shoes. Finally, she had her ring choker on, which she had never taken off ever since the first day she started working at the park.

The girl put her thumb and index finger on her nose ridge and rubbed it in a pinching motion. She had stayed there the entire time, on that metal balcony that overlook the whole enclosure. There was a step ladder right behind her and next to that was a crane with a long metal cable. The workers would prepare the meat and then bring it up with the control panel at the edge of the platform. The platform was not much, but it was enough to walk along the walls of the exhibit. The balcony was even reinforced with titanium, which was more of a comfort rather than using wooden poles that might cause splinters.

Tyrannosaurus Rex siblings Matilda and Terrence were placed on opposite sides of the enclosure. The female rex was placed on the right side this morning and had been trying to attack her brother when she awoke. Terrence had always been afraid of his sister since the day they both arrived at Prehistoric Park years ago. The only things that protected him from her wrath were the wooden fence that the workers had placed to separate the two and the odd electric rings that were on their ankles.

Hazel knew that working with the twins would be difficult, so she and Nigel collaborated to create the rings they were wearing now. According to the inventor, they worked just like a shock collar would on a dog. If any one of them got too near the wooden fence, the rings would send a jolt of electricity up through their bodies. In front of the fence on both sides were three poles. If any of rexes got too close, then they would get shocked. The shocks were similar to the shocker pens and other merchandise that can be purchased in local markets, but they did not harm them. Instead, the shocks were enough to make them stay away from the fence.

She was even thankful that she was alone. The other workers were busy tending to the animals in the other parts of the park. If any of them saw her talking to the twins, then they would start questioning not only her, but maybe even Nigel. She had her communicator on after all.

Speaking of the communicator, Nigel had managed to upgrade the frequencies within the device some time ago. This allowed Hazel to communicate with carnivores. She had already gotten to know a number of the carnivores in the park, thus creating even more relations to the denizens of the past. Today was a huge test trial on her new method of communication and so far…it was working. She had reminded herself to thank her mentor for the upgrade, but first, she needed to deal with this ordeal.

"Okay so let me get this straight…Matilda, you hate your brother because not only does he get more food than you, but you just want to show that you're boss," she said as she pointed at her right.

"And Terrence, you hog all the meat from her because you're greedy and just want to piss her off for the fun of it," Hazel concluded when she pointed to her left.

"Yeah!" Terrence screamed. He had a voice tone that Hazel could equate to that of Chuck Norris. "Now can you please get rid of her? The longer she stays here, the more she creeps me out."

"Hah!" Matilda snorted and held her head high. "See? You're a coward. You trembling at my presence proves that I am the better predator. You're just a softie who's afraid to fight his own battles. And the strong gets more of the spoils!"

Terrence roared. "You even kept taking that spot under the tree every day! That's my sleeping spot!"

"You snooze, you lose twerp!" the elder sister hissed.

"That's it, you're mine!" the younger brother growled and then came charging at his sibling. Once he had gotten within reach of the poles, however, a jolt of electricity went up his legs and then his body. The dinosaur let out a screech from the shocking pain and then took a few steps back.

Matilda laughed. "Well that was entertaining!"

"You slimy snot-blowing-!" the male retorted but was then cut off mid-sentence.

"Okay enough!" Hazel screamed, stopping the two from bickering.

"Both of you, will you please stop fighting!?"

At that command, both teenagers ceased their argument and looked up at the human. She stared at them with a mixture of disappointment and anger in her eyes. Hazel took in a breath and spoke out in a booming voice.

"Fighting each other is senseless! I don't understand why you do this to each other. For God's sake, you're siblings! Family! Doesn't that mean anything?" she blurted out. After that, she began to slowly walk around the enclosure. More specifically, she was walking towards Terrence's side. Both carnivores eyed her as she did so, and even shifted their positions just to keep eye contact.

"Four years ago, your mother sacrificed herself to save you from the jaws of another. Back then, you were just babies and probably don't even remember it, but now I'm telling you! Not only that, but if it were not for Nigel, then the both of you would have had your butts fried by the meteor that struck the earth shortly after! He brought you here so that you both could live out your lives in peace. Things went smoothly at first, but then what did we see?" she addressed and then stopped to face forward towards them.

"Children who were always at each other's throats just over some petty disputes about things that are so little!" Hazel lectured as if she were a general in a boot camp.

Both carnivores looked at each other for a moment before looking down at the ground in shame.

"What would your mother think if she were here right now? She'd think that you two are a disgrace to her name. More importantly, your species!"

Hazel watched them for a minute to allow the harsh words to sink in to their minds. She was mad, at the both of them, yet at the same time, she felt empowered and in control. Was this what it was like to be in control? She had never done this before, but she did watch enough scenes on films to recreate and even use these emotions and words to her advantage.

"Your species is called Tyrannosaurus Rex. It means 'the tyrant lizard king'. Your kind was the most fearsome species to have ever walked the planet during the late Cretaceous."

" _Well…technically we discovered even bigger predators than you, but I'd rather not talk about that…"_ Hazel thought to herself.

"There used to be many of you, but not anymore. You won't find any more rexes here. Now all you have…is each other," the young adult added in a calmer tone.

"You see the message I'm getting at? If one of you kills the other…then you'll be named as the last remaining T-rex alive. You want that?"

It only took seconds for Hazel to get an answer out of the twins. Both of them shook their heads and whispered the word "no". The girl smirked and nodded at that answer, finally seeing that they're starting to get the big picture.

"Now I speak for everyone here at the park when I say this. Please…just get along. It's that simple. You're a family. A pack. Two peas in a pod."

Terrence shifted his feet then looked back at the human. "Well…what do you want us to do? I don't like the sound of being the last ones around."

Matilda groaned. "Neither do I."

Hazel folded her hands behind her back and looked poised for them. It was as if she were a commanding officer talking down to a duo of insubordinate soldiers. "Well the first thing you could do is apologize to each other."

Both lizard king and queen turned from her and eyed each other. It only took a few seconds, but both of them relented. The reality that Hazel had given them had stung them. Before, they were furious just for being in each other's presences. Now, they had a sense of guilt.

"Sorry…" they both uttered then looked away from each other.

Hazel clapped once. "Congrats. You two just took your first step in patching things up."

"Um…can you take her away now?" Terrence asked, still not looking at either girl.

"No," the young time traveler said indifferently.

"Aw come on!" the young male complained. "She gives me the creeps!"

"And I wouldn't want him cramp up my style! Plus, this area's way too small!" Matilda argued as well.

"Why would I separate the both of you even further when I just witnessed a hint of kindness towards each other? Come now, if I did that, then neither of you would progress on the road to peace and forgiveness. No, I'm leaving you the way you two are. You two have some serious bonding to do."

"But-!" the young queen rex retorted but was cut off but Hazel raising a hand up.

"Whatever you say will not sway me from this decision. Until you two can get along, you are both confined in this state. Now…this is a wonderful opportunity for the both of you to make amends and I wouldn't want to ruin it by making it sound like you're grounded. So I'm going to break a deal with you," she reasoned with a smile.

Hazel swallowed and announced her proclamation. "If you two successfully make it through at least two weeks without arguing or attempting to come at each other, not only will you be returned to the original living quarters, but also, you will receive double the amount of meat each meal."

"You're serious?" Matilda quipped.

The girl shook her head again. "Yup. And ONLY if you two get along. I'm going to inform the other workers here of your actions. If I hear that you both aren't following through with our deal, your sentence will get even longer. You understand?"

Both dinosaurs stared at her as she said those words. Like before, they relented. Both of them nodded and then spoke at the same time.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," Hazel cheered in an uplifting tone. "Have fun."

When she said that, she rushed around the compound until she got to the ladder. She scaled it downwards and jumped the last few rungs to make a landing. Hazel landed in a crouched position then got back up. She then pressed the button that was situated on the earpiece, turning the device off. Afterwards, she removed it and placed it in her pocket.

"That…was impressive," a voice spoke from behind her.

Hazel did not turn, but she did jump a little when she heard that someone was behind her. The voice sounded familiar, which was enough to calm her down.

Hazel sighed. "How long have you been standing there?"

Nigel chuckled. "Long enough. So, four years and someone has finally managed to tame the rexes. You never cease to amaze me."

The girl looked back and eyed him. "I just hope this plan works. By the way, thanks for upgrading the communicator. Without the upgrade, I wouldn't have been able to smack these guys a bit."

The man waved a couple times then stopped. "Don't mention it. It only took me a couple weeks, but I finally managed it."

"So, what's up?" she asked, wondering why he was there in the first place.

"Oh right. About that. I made a startling discovery last week during a hike around this part of the valley. The workers have just uncovered the entire thing today," he said with enthusiasm.

"A discovery? What of?" Hazel curiously questioned.

"Erm…I think it's best if I show you."

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The drive from that part of the park to the forest edge took about 40 minutes. They crossed flat plains, went through a number of hills, and bypassed a few cliffs before they got there. The forests were situated along the mountains in the valley, making it look like one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Once Nigel parked the jeep at the forest edge, he made a beeline for the woods. Hazel did the same and followed close behind.

Hazel had never been to this part of the valley before. She assumed that there was really not much to see and almost never had time to do some exploring either. Her thoughts about nothing in the mountains changed when she saw a hidden mountain trail that went up. Both humans took it without a second thought.

"I didn't know there was a trail here at all," Hazel mentioned.

"Neither did I until I found it," Nigel went next.

Both of them traversed outgrowing tree roots, stray sticks and stones, and even a few dirt holes. The dirt trail was large enough for even vehicles to cross. The climb became more rigorous as they continued upward the winding path. Sweat began to fall from their brows due to the elevation and the effort to get to their destination…whatever it was.

"So…where exactly are we going? And what's the big deal?" the girl wondered.

"Right right. So I mentioned that I discovered something remarkable last week while I was hiking along this trail. Remember before when we found out this valley is the exact same location as your friends' Nesting Grounds?" Nigel heaved as he hopped over a log.

Hazel's eyes widened like marbles at the mention of the Nesting Grounds. She had not forgotten about what she had been through months ago, nor had she forgotten about the friends she had left behind. There had not been a day that had passed where she did not think about them. That mission was still up too, meaning that she would have to return soon, depending on when the Herd Plains were ready. Hazel became saddened at that and sighed.

"Yeah. Haven't forgotten about that."

"Well, I decided to do a bit of exploring around the area. I wanted to see if there were any remnants of the valley back then so that I can take them to my office to be studied. More specifically, I wanted to study the geography of the landscape 65 million years ago and of today. Finding fossils of plants would help in determining what other food resources we could provide the herd once we get here," he explained.

"Okay…so did you find any?" she asked.

Nigel shook his head. They had made it to a flattened portion of the trail. Like before, the trees had covered the sky above, giving it the mysterious and eerie atmosphere. Only a few rays of light penetrated through the leaves, which gave the humans some guidance through this part of the path.

"No I didn't. I had with me a special device I used back when I was younger to help me find fossils around the place. It was a fun thing to use, just turn it on and it would lead you to the nearest buried fossil. Kind of like a metal detector…sort of. Anyway, I had it with me and it led me through this trail. I followed the signals it was giving me until I reached the destination, which is just ahead."

With that said, Nigel broke into a run through the pathway. Hazel, eager to know what he had found, followed him. It took them five minutes to run up the trail. Once they reached the top, they were breathing heavily and gasping for air. Hazel had bent over and gripped her knees just so she could catch her breath.

"We're here…" he breathed out.

The area they arrived at turned out to be a secret grove. There was a medium rock wall formation that spanned from the left to the middle position. At the corner where the rocks "turn" was a small indentation on the ground, which was assumed to be a pond at some point. The grass was long, typical of an area that did not have many visitors. The trees were like those in the forest; tall with branches that spanned out with evergreen leaves. This was by far the only area that was not covered by trees, giving the grove its sanctioned look. Off to the right was the edge of the grove, which turned out to be a cliff where if someone walked towards it, they might fall at least fifty feet into the forest base below. Besides the cliff being dangerous, it did overlook that part of the valley, which made a perfect vantage point when watching the whole of Prehistoric Park. The only objects that belonged to the modern world were the various digging tools and excavation equipment. Here and there were hammers, picks, and brushes. There was even a large white plastic wrapping which seemed like it had seen its fair share of rain and mud.

Hazel's moment of admiring the scenery was interrupted by what was on the rocks in front of her. She let out a gasp as she stared into the remains of a whole dinosaur fossil. The creature was hoisted above the ground on the wall, as if it were a picture frame. The bones were very much buried in the rock, but enough of it showed the whole skeleton. The remains were about 33 feet long and looked as if it were walking. It was definitely a quadruped and had the familiar teeth of an herbivore. Seeing the bones like that in the rock was curious, but what shocked her the most was what the skeleton was. There were many ornithopods that had three toes on their front legs with a free-grabbing finger, but there was one dinosaur she knew of that had a thumb spike.

"It's…an Iguanodon…" she gasped.

"I did some carbon dating on it yesterday," Nigel mentioned. "From the tests that were run, it's safe to conclude that the remains are at least in the Late Cretaceous range."

The twenty year old slowly strode forward to inspect the fossil further. Hazel had heard what her mentor had said, and that made a fear grow inside her. If what Nigel said was true, then she could be looking at the remains of one of the herd members. Or worse…

Once she was right before it, she placed a hand on its right paw and stroked it. Her breathing became shaky and she started to tremble. Hazel closed her eyes and felt a tear fall down her cheek.

"Aladar? Is that you?"

Nigel watched the young woman fall to her knees and break down into tears. He can understand the pain she was going through. He even predicted it before he decided to bring her here. The park keeper hurried up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Hazel paid no attention to the comfort she was receiving.

"Does this mean…I would fail to save them?" she tearfully asked.

The man did not reply to that, but rather with a different answer. "Hazel…there's a chance that this fellow isn't one of your friends. I haven't done a full extensive examination of the rocks, but I would estimate that they may be a little older than 65 million years."

Hazel used her right arm to wipe the tears from her face. "Are you sure?"

Nigel nodded. "Positive. And you can't give up hope. The mission isn't over, meaning that what you are fearing, or in fact what we are fearing, has not happened just yet."

The girl quickly stood up and walked over to the edge of the grove. She stopped when she was just a few feet from the edge. For a few moments, she took in the scenery of the entire valley. Right before her was Prehistoric Park, her home as she likes to call it. Some of the animals were too small for her to make out, but she could clearly see the Titanosaurs grazing on the tree tops. Further north from the park, she could faintly make out a group of large animals crossing a couple of the hills. Hazel could tell that those were the elephants.

She let out a breath. "Nigel, how soon until the plains are ready for the herd?"

The man walked up and then stopped next to her. He too admired the scenery before turning his attention to her. "They're ready now."

The girl nodded and remained silent.

"I know it's going to be difficult, convincing the herd to come to the 21st century, but you don't have to do it alone. You've done a fantastic job, trailing a herd of dinosaurs to their breeding grounds, even bringing back a large carnivore to make up for the inability to retrieve them. I know you're worried now…I am too," Nigel reasoned.

The girl broke her trance from the landscape and looked at him. She was no longer crying, but her eyes were still a little watery and somewhat red.

"That's why…when you decide to go back, I'm coming with you."

Hazel gave him a small smile. "Thanks Nigel."

The man smiled as well then returned his gaze to the valley. "Anytime. So…what's the plan?"

The girl took in a breath then exhaled. "We're leaving…first thing tomorrow."

 _Tada! Chapter 1 is done! Sorry the chapter's a bit short. So for the last part of this chapter, if you guys know what I'm referring to when it comes to the skeleton, then you and I know that it's physically impossible for an uncovered skeleton to last this long. Nevertheless, it's part of the story. So things are starting to kick off here…and it's just the beginning! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for Chapter 2!_


	2. Return to the Past

_Hi guys, I'm back! So the first chapter was kind of short so I decided to split it. This chapter was supposed to be part of Chapter 1, but I decided to make it a separate chapter. Anyway, I hope you like it._ _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park. Just the characters I created. Also, there is a mention of a certain movie in this chapter along with the use of one of the objects from that movie. I do not own both!**_ _Well that's enough on that. Enjoy the chapter!_

Hazel let out an exasperated groan as she slammed her large backpack on her bed. The sack bounced twice before settling down on the mattress. Her room was not much, as it contained a mahogany wardrobe at the far right corner, a walk-in closet next to it, a bookcase full of various novels and texts in multiple colors, posters of her favorite things (like Evanescence and Breaking Benjamin), and the large double glass doors behind her that led to the small patio. The large white double-shelved desk that Nigel gave her some time ago was poised next to the patio. Like the bookcase, it too was filled with texts about the world she lived in. In addition, the desk contained a built-in lamp that branched out from one part of the shelf. Her bed was king sized and the mattress cover was of a light blue hue. The fabric was of a 500 thread material and two blue pillows lay at the very top of the bed. Next to it on the left was a nightstand that was of the same material as her bed and a black office lamp.

Her room overlooked a fraction of the park and, if it were daytime, would show the Titanosaur paddock and the Deinosuchus Dip. However, it was the middle of the night and it was pitch black outside.

Her bed was littered with the supplies she would need for the mission. She had already set out her sleeping bag, her flashlight, a red and white first aid kit, her goggles, her blue filter water bottle, her goggles, a box of matches, and her father's dagger. Her dagger was one of the only things she had kept that reminded her of him. He was a kind man, and was much like Nigel, with whom she considered as a father figure. The dagger, which was in its ebony black sheath, rested on her one of her pillows. The hilt was adorned with golden spirals and had a sapphire jewel at the very end. Hazel had used it in her last adventure, and she planned on using it again.

The building she was in served as the living quarters for the staff members and was situated next to Nigel's office. About a hundred employees ran the park and there were a few times the building would expand to accommodate the amount of new recruits. The four story high building was concrete and looked like it would be just a regular motel off of a US interstate. The roof was metal and colored forest green to match the nature theme.

Hazel gritted her teeth and cursed. "That son of a bitch!"

The girl gripped her bag even harder before forcibly opening the large pocket at the back. "Honestly, I don't even know why I saved him!"

"I should have just let him fall down that canyon!" she ranted as she stuffed each and every one of her items into her bag.

Hazel's day had started off from okay, to bad after Nigel showed her the Iguanodon skeleton, to worse. For most of the evening, she had been griping about her visit to the newest resident in the park, which did not go very well.

"That stupid lizard…" she grumbled as she stuffed her sleeping bag into the bag.

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 _*Flashback*_

Earlier that afternoon…

After eating dinner in the park café, Hazel decided to finish one order of business before preparing for the trip back to the Nesting Grounds. The sun was just starting to set, which made the sky turn into a bright orange hue. The clouds started to become darker as the light gradually faded. The birds flew overhead and made their last chirps before settling in for the night. All of the animals were either finishing their dinner or preparing to sleep.

Admiring the animals at the end of the day was one thing Hazel sometimes would do after dinner. But today was different. Everyone had already done their jobs for the day so they were either headed back to the living quarters or eating dinner, meaning that no one would be near the animal pens. Using the solitude to her advantage, she dug into her shorts pocket and retrieved her communicator, which she activated as soon as it was positioned in her ear. As she passed Bob's workshop and T-rex Hill, she thought of the circumstances she would be dealing with once she reached her destination. It did not take her very long to reach it, as it was just towards the east of the Ornithomimus pond.

The new compound was about the same size as Terrence and Matilda's paddock. It was also similar in appearance, only this time, there were more trees and rocks. Hazel reached the ladder that was situated next to the large door that led into the enclosure and climbed it. When she reached the top, she could see the exhibit in its entirety without the wooden bars in the way. Off to the left, she saw a large therapod with two sharp horns above its eyes about to gorge in on a recently placed carcass.

The bull lizard was about to take a mouthful until he noticed the human in his peripheral vision. He lifted his great head and looked at the girl that stood on the overlook platform. He gave her a glare, and she did as well.

"So," he said in a deep, rumbling voice. "The little two-legged returns…"

"Diablo…" Hazel calmly uttered his chosen name. "Been a while."

He let out a snort. "You can understand me now…that's plucky."

The young woman with short black hair did not reply to that. She continued to stare silently in his cold heartless eyes, which only made her glare even more serious.

Diablo let out a chuckle. "I'm guessing that you did not come here to say hello."

"I came to check up on you. Seems like your leg recovered nicely," she noted after glancing at the leg she had wounded a few months back with her father's dagger.

"You along with that disgusting wretch and insect hurt me!" the beast roared angrily.

Hazel remembered that event like it was yesterday. She, along with her Pteranodon friend Flia, and Aladar, the newly established leader of the herd she and Nigel planned to rescue, had fought this carnivore at the top of a cliff over a ravine. He had already murdered the previous leader, Kron, beforehand and attempted to kill the herd too. The trio fought bravely and kept the beast at bay. When he fell off the cliff, Hazel managed to activate the time poles, which she had planted while he was dealing with the fallen leader, and transport him to the present. Now that he was living here, Diablo was better contained and surely did not bother anyone.

Suzanne's work on his leg paid off, as the scratches had all but disappeared. The wounds that Flia inflicted on his hide had healed up too. But ever since that day, Hazel was sure to keep her distance. Even though he was behind wooden walls, she knew that he would have a grudge towards her and even try to break out. That was why she rarely visited him. The only times she did was to make sure he was eating well and keeping up with his health. But that was then, and this is now.

"I saved your life! Aladar was not aware of my plan to save you. And believe me, I could have jumped for your head, or your heart. But I didn't," Hazel spat at him.

Diablo let out a laugh. "Save me? Then how come you view me as a prisoner?"

Her expression did not change at that. "I don't. I saved your life to give you a second chance. That's what this park is for."

"A second chance you say?" The large bull stomped the ground with one foot, causing it to shake a bit. "Then why didn't you save my mate!?"

Hazel's eyes widened a bit. She remembered that Diablo had been with another Carnotaur back when she was traveling with the herd. She assumed that the second one was a smaller male, but she did not think of a mated pair. Hazel thought back to the night at the cave and, for the first time in front of this bloodthirsty predator, she felt the pang of guilt. The young girl had helped in the murder of his mate by blinding her with her dagger. Not only that, but she also felt guilty for not attempting to at least save her from the collapsing ceiling, even though there was nothing she could do.

"I could have if it weren't for the falling rocks!" she defended.

"You little pest…you were the one behind her death," Diablo hissed with hatred.

Hazel gripped the balcony bars, causing the metal to ring a bit before becoming quiet. "I didn't kill her! Bruton did! You and your girlfriend were trying to eat my friends!"

"For our survival," he huffed.

The recruit was well aware of the laws of the natural world; eat or get eaten, kill or be killed, and survival of the fittest. It was everywhere, even when she and Nigel would travel into prehistory. It was also one she had seen on a whole new level months ago, back when she traveled with the herd to the Nesting Grounds. Kron had made that his primary belief and embraced it fully. Before she could speak with the dinosaurs, she only viewed it as something that could not be helped. Now, after her solo adventure, there are times when she questions the idea.

"I know you are bringing the herd here…" the carnivore told her, which surprised Hazel a bit and caused her to wonder as to how he learned about that.

"I overheard you talking to that other human a while back. You intend to rescue them from a disaster."

Hazel cleared her throat. "For a noble cause."

Diablo laughed again, this time in an insulting manner. "Noble my rear! Have you ever thought about how they would feel after you save them? You think they would still accept you as one of their own? They're not going to trust you after this. Sooner or later, they will find out. And when they do, they will only see themselves as a means to an end, materials to glorify this despicable paradise."

"No! You're wrong!" she denied.

"Deny me if you must. Deep down, you know I am right," the horned dinosaur bared his teeth. Hazel could clearly see that it was an evil smile.

"You son of a-," Hazel cursed but was then cut off by him.

"Listen well human," Diablo began. "Killing you and your kind is a waste of my time. I have more of a desire to go after your herd...especially that leaf-eating scum. The next chance that I get at freedom, I'm going after him. And his pretty little head will be in my jaws."

She gritted her teeth. "Leave my friends alone you ass!"

"Oh? And how are you going to manage that?" Diablo taunted. "Are you going to come down here and stab me a million times? You can throw whatever threats you have at me, but I'll always come back."

Hazel calmed down. She did not want to appear childish or react any more in front of this guy. If she did, she knew the Carnotaurus would win. Hazel composed herself and, like before, folded her hands behind her back.

"No. I'm going to do worse. The technology I used to bring you to the 21st century can also be used to send you back into the past. It was not designed as a weapon, but I sure as hell can use it as one on you," she scowled. "If you harm my friends or the herd, then I will use that technology to send you back to when the fireball hit the earth…"

Deep down, Hazel knew she would not dare do such a thing. It was not in her nature. Nigel and everyone would view her as a heartless monster if she did. She would be seen as a cruel dictator, or even a murderess. Hazel was not that, but she cared for her friends. One thing was for sure, she will not let him have his way if he got the chance. If threatening him with a bluff would make him think twice, then so be it.

"Oh…maybe that would be too merciful," she played again. "No, I think I'll send you back further in time, back to the Permian Extinction. Doting time, there are so many ways to die there; heat stroke, starvation, dehydration, maybe a little bit of sickness, or just getting eaten. Either way, you'll have a slow and torturous death."

Diablo snort. "You're bluffing."

"As I mentioned already, our time travelling technology is a two-way street: any time in prehistory and the present. So if you even lay a single talon or tooth on anyone here or the herd...I'm coming for you," she threatened.

Diablo did not answer back to that. Instead, he pulled his attention from the human back onto his dinner. "You win…this time. But my threat still stands. Now leave me, I have a meal to eat."

Hazel glared at him for a few more moments before turning away from him. As she proceeded down the ladder, she could clearly hear the meat being ripped to shreds and the monster devour it. Anger had welled up inside her, along with an even more burning hatred for the one called Diablo.

 _*End flashback*_

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Hazel finished stuffing her sleeping bag into her backpack, which took some effort, but she got the job done. Once she was finished, she zipped up her bag and placed it next to the door leading into the hallway. After doing so, she turned around and walked to the patio.

The sliding doors opened with ease. Hazel was greeted by a gentle breeze and the sound of crickets. This day was truly stressful and she needed the calmness of the park at night. There were only a few stars out tonight, as the sky contained dark stray clouds that drifted through the celestial tapestry. The breeze was soft and the night was cool.

Hazel closed her eyes and put a hand on her forehead. Using her thumb and index finger, she rubbed her temples. Because of all that had happened today, her worries for the herd have only gotten worse. Seeing the fossil in the grove had frightened her on whether she was too late to save them. At the same time, she thought of the encounter as a good thing, because now she had more of a drive to get the dinosaurs to the safety of the present.

Then, her altercation with Diablo had made her fear of the herd not accepting her much worse. The Carnotaurus' foreboding words were ingrained into her mind. Her friends had accepted her after she had told them she was from the future. If she had told them about the meteor, they should still see her as a friend. After all, she's coming back to save them.

"Diablo's wrong…" she muttered. "If the herd trusted me then, then they'll trust me now. And bringing them back here will prove it."

Finally, after thinking on it for a few more moments, Hazel turned around and returned inside. She slid the door to the left and flipped the lock that was positioned just below the handle. The image of the park member disappeared from view as she walked away. When the light died down, all in the park was now dark. All of the animals in the park, including the humans, lay sleeping as they awaited for the dawn of a new day.

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The next day…

After breakfast, both park creator and his assistant immediately went straight for holding pens where the time portal was. Nigel had brought the jeep there that morning and both had spent the last hour or so packing the things into the trunk. The employees milled around the park doing their daily work business. Nigel and Hazel had already told Bob and Suzanne of their departure. Last time, the park creator did not tell them of his assistant's solo adventure, at least until much later. He figured that it would be best if they knew about it rather than worrying the entire time.

Nigel closed the trunk of the jeep as soon as he confirmed that all the supplies needed were in there. Regardless of the time period, the valley was large. There were also a lot of supplies needed for the trip so bringing a vehicle was the best option. Yesterday, during dinner, he and Hazel had discussed the game plan. They decided that they would arrive at the Nesting Grounds exactly 48 hours before the meteor struck. The reason why they had allowed such a time period was because Nigel wanted some time to collect samples of the plant life and, like Hazel, wanted at least a day to spend time with the herd. Nigel also told her that the return location on the time poles had been modified to activate right at the Herd Plains rather than at the holding pens. They would not want at least a hundred or more prehistoric animals stampeding through the park.

Everything they needed was already in the vehicle. There were two tents, a cooler full of food, a large jug of purified water, Nigel's field collecting kit, two lanterns, two bullhorns (just in case there were any predators. Nigel had found from experience during his visit in prehistoric Mongolia that they were effective in driving some carnivores off), and finally, the time poles.

Hazel, who had already finished her preparation tasks, looked at the mountains in the distance in silence. Her emotions were pretty much in a ball. She was excited that she was going to see her friends again, but because of yesterday, she also felt worried and stressed. The girl did not tell Nigel about her argument with Diablo and she did not want to talk about it.

"Well that's everything," Nigel informed her.

"Alright…" Hazel replied blatantly. She turned around and walked back to the jeep. "Let's get going."

"Wait…" he promptly said, stopping her from opening the car door. "There's something I want to do first."

The young woman raised an eyebrow at him. "What's that?"

"Remember last month when we were celebrating your birthday and I told you that your gift wouldn't arrive until much later?"

"Uh…yeah?" she replied.

It was true, her birthday was last month. Everyone at the park took half day off and held a birthday party for her. It was a fun time and she received a number of presents from everyone. Some of them included an updated encyclopedia on prehistoric animals from Suzanne, a pair of fingerless gloves from Bob, and a few new clothes from some of the employees. The only gift she did not receive was the one from Nigel.

"Well it arrived a few days ago. Perfect timing too, because you'll find it useful for our task. I didn't want to give it to you until this moment," he informed her. When he finished, he ran back towards the open door leading into the holding pen and, from the other side of the right wall, retrieved a large package. The length was about four feet, just a little smaller than Hazel, and the width was about two and a half feet. The thickness was about three inches too. There was even a white label that was attached at the top right corner. The box was not that heavy, but the size of it almost made Nigel lose his momentum as he walked.

"There we go," he said as he gently placed on the ground before Hazel.

"Whoa…that's a big present."

Nigel straightened up and let out a breath. "Whoo…so you're not going to believe the story on how I got my hands on this. I have a friend over in London who had a hobby of collecting various movie props. I remembered my last visit to him that he had two pairs of a certain item that were collecting dust in his basement. I didn't really think of them, but after your solo mission, I figured that one of them would make the perfect birthday present for you. So I called him up, asked if they were still there, which they were, and kindly asked if I could have one of them. He sold it at a decent price and it arrived at the nearest town, which I picked up soon afterwards."

"What is it?" Hazel curiously asked.

The man smirked. "You're going to have to open it to find out."

Hazel bent down. She unsheathed her father's dagger and slightly stabbed the package in the middle where the tape lining was. The twenty year old then sliced it in an up and down motion until the lid was no longer bound. She then put her blade away and opened the flaps. There were a number of crumpled newspapers in there, so she had to dig them out. Once she moved enough of them aside, the item that was hidden was beheld before her.

She let out a gasp and quickly brought out the object. The thing bent away from her in half when she brought it up. It was about her height and was brown in color. The material was of a hard leather and was shaped like a rounded hourglass. There was a strap at the very top that was firmly buckled at the other end, which looked like it served as a way for something to put its head through. The ventral portion was soft and felt like velvet against her skin.

Hazel knew what this was. It was used in one of her favorite movies when she was little. It had been years since she had seen it and she used to watch that movie a lot. This moment, her fears about the herd faded as she gazed upon the marvel.

"Wait a sec…isn't this one of the saddles from the movie Dinotopia?" Hazel exclaimed.

Nigel nodded. "Sure is. I remember. You used to like that movie. I figured that since your friend is a Pteranodon and that you enjoyed riding her on your last outing, it would prove useful to you."

"Nigel…" she stammered. "I…I don't know what to say. But…thank you!"

"Happy late birthday!" he greeted with his arms open then relaxed. "I bet you know how to use it correct?"

The girl winked at him. "I've seen the movie so many times. It's like riding a bike…that flies."

After admiring it a little longer, Hazel gently placed it on the back seat of the jeep and then opened one of the doors. She boarded the passenger seat and buckled the seat belt. Nigel soon did the same on the driver's side. Once he did, he put his hand into his right shorts pocket and pressed a button on the remote he put there. The time portal ahead flared to life. The image of the mountains in the distance became blurred by the anomaly before them. The texture of the vortex looked like rippling water and moved slowly in a clockwise motion.

"Are you ready?" Nigel said as he activated the jeep with the turn of a key. He watched her retrieve her communicator from her left shorts pocket and place it into her ear. With the push of a button, the device activated.

"Let's do this," she answered, her happy expression now becoming one of determination.

The vehicle sped forward and disappeared into the time stream. The portal rippled like that of a broken water surface and then became still. As soon as it did, the portal shrunk and vanished. The travelers have departed the hidden animal sanctuary for the world of the dinosaurs.

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The Nesting Grounds…65 million years ago

It was a beautiful day at the Nesting Grounds. The sun was shining, no clouds were out, and the wind blew gently. Birds chirped and flew everywhere from the trees or in the sky. The dinosaurs were everywhere in the valley, enjoying the sun. They were either eating from the grass or the trees, drinking from the lake, sleeping, or the like. This was something that they haven't done for at least a few weeks, for they had just arrived at the Nesting Grounds a few days prior.

"Tag you're it!" a young Parasaurolophus laughed.

The young Iguanodon, who was colored blue and green with a cream underbelly, let out a groan. He rolled his eyes and started ranting at the girl that got away from him. She took her place next to two other individuals, which consisted of a young male pachyrhinosaurus and an adult male Iguanodon, who looked just like the smaller one before him. All of them awaited for the tagged player to come after them.

"Charon, that's the third time in a row!" he complained. "Can't you go after somebody else?"

"Sorry Talin. Out of everyone here, you're the one that's always distracted."

"I was about to get a drink," he grumbled. "All this running has made me thirsty."

"Uh…this is tag," the child pachyrhinosaurus pointed out in an obvious tone. "You're supposed to come after us when you do."

"One second Tirech!" Talin shouted angrily.

The adult sighed and lowered his head until he was at their eye level. "Come on kids, give him a break. He needs it."

"Sorry Aladar…" they both apologized sheepishly.

At that moment, the youngster made his way to the lake shore just a few feet away and lowered his horse-like head. He immediately took large gulps of the water, which felt refreshing to him as it was nice and cool. After a few seconds or so, Talin took in one more gulp then stared at his playgroup nearby. The two children and Aladar laughed hard because he was holding in the water in his mouth, making his cheeks look big.

Talin swallowed it whole and then ran after them. The trio stopped laughing and the chase resumed.

"You think that was funny? You won't be laughing once I tag you!" he playfully threatened.

"That's if you can catch us first!" Charon taunted.

The chase spanned halfway around the lake. They did well to avoid crashing into the adults that were coming to the watering hole or leaving it. They even served as obstacles for Talin, which both prevented him from getting closer to any of his targets and allowed the others to get further away.

"Get back here!" he said after narrowly evading an incoming struthiomimus. The fast runner let out a yelp and jumped in surprise as the youngster quickly went around him.

"Yeah how about…" Aladar laughed but then stopped when something caught his attention. He slowed to a stop and examined the cave entrance. Normally, the entrance would be empty, as no one would really bother to go there after a long trip. But not this time. The familiar form of a certain pterosaur stood unmoving in the middle at the cave edge.

The herd leader slowly walked forward to check on the sky scout. His focus on playing with the children have changed to checking up on one of his friends.

Aladar felt a tap from a hoof on his leg. "Tag, now you're it!"

He did not respond to that and kept walking. Talin's smile disappeared as his own father ignored the action.

"Uh…Dad?" he called. The other two dinosaurs skidded to a halt and watched as their playmate made his way up to the cave.

"Hey, what's going on?" Charon asked Talin.

"Uh…I don't know. Dad, what's up?"

Aladar stopped and looked back at his son and his friends. "Um, you guys continue on without me. I need to handle something."

The three children looked at each other and said nothing. They obeyed Talin's father and ran in the opposite direction, ready to play tag again or another game.

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Flia stared at the darkness of the cave intently. She had been there for the last few minutes and has not moved since then. The Pteranodon had been doing this ever since they arrived. She would get to the cave entrance and stand there for a while before flying off. Her reason had something to do with a certain human being, one she call her friend.

"Hey Flia," someone called behind her.

The crested flying reptile glanced back and saw her superior walk up and then stand next to her. Flia looked down at the ground then back into the cave.

"Hi Aladar," she sadly replied.

"You okay? You've been doing this for the past couple days."

Flia sighed. "No. I'm sorry…I haven't been myself lately."

The Iguanodon looked away and stared into the cave darkness as well. "I know how you feel. I miss her too."

"Aladar," she started. "It's been a whole year. That's too long of a time."

"I know. But you heard what she said," he reminded. "She'll come back."

Flia looked at him worriedly. "What if she doesn't? What if…she's forgotten about us?"

Aladar scoffed in a playful manner. "Wha? Hazel? No, she'd never do that. Hazel's a kind, strong, and loyal friend. I don't know what she's doing, but if there's something I do know about her, it's that she'd never back out on her friends. Like last year, when you both helped me out against Kron and that Carnotaur. I told her to stay behind, as it would be dangerous. But she went against it anyway, all for me and the herd."

The scout thought deeply on that. She remembered that day when they bravely went against the former leader in an effort to convince him and the herd to take the safer route to the Nesting Grounds. Kron did not listen to them, nor did he follow when the herd fought against the Carnotaur. His stubbornness led to his downfall…and eventually his death.

Flia closed her eyes and exhaled. "You're right."

Aladar smiled at that then turned around to walk away from the cave. His head scout did the same and spread her wings, about to take to the sky.

"You should go and get some food. Eating something will help you out."

"Well…" she chuckled. "I guess haven't really eaten anything this morning."

Both were about to leave but were then stopped by a strange sound from behind them. The sound was that of a deep whirring, like a deep roar, but not as loud. Their hearts skipped a beat as a result. The phenomenon continued with an even stranger sound. This one sounded like a dinosaur bellow, but different. There were no footfalls, only a low scratching sound as they would call it.

The dinosaur and flying reptile slowly turned around to investigate. What they saw made their eyes widen like marbles and their mouths slowly open. There, standing next to an odd looking contraption, was a familiar face. The creature was small and would be just below Aladar's chest if she were to stand next to him. Her raven black hair was short and her skin was a supple tan. This being looked different and wore different clothes, but they knew who it was.

The human smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Hey guys! I'm back!"

Hazel had finally returned.

 _And…Chapter 2 is done! Hazel and Nigel have finally arrived at the Nesting Grounds. I hope you enjoyed the chapter._ _So I made a few notes about the ages of the dinosaurs and the lemurs in the story. Because we don't exactly know the lifespan of dinosaurs (or prehistoric lemurs) I decided to make up some ideas about it. So below is a few notes regarding the ages. The information I have about the lemurs is from a website about the Verreax's Sifaka. I do not own that information._

 _Lemurs in movie are based off the Verreaux's Sifaka. Really, they're Smilodictes. Raised in captivity, they can live to up to 18 years old. For this story, the maximum age will be 25._

 _Average age at sexual maturity (female and male): 2.5 years. For Smilodictes, sexual maturity is about 5 years._

 _ **Lemur ages**_ _:_

 _Yar - 23 (13 when Aladar was found)_

 _Plio - 16 (6 when she first found Aladar)_

 _Zini - 13 (3 when Aladar was found)_

 _Suri - 3.5 (2 in part 1)_

 _ **Iguanodons**_ _:_

 _Life expectancy is unknown, so for this case, 40 years will be the maximum age._

 _Aladar was about 10 years old when he became fully grown. Childhood lasts up until age 5, then teenage years are from 5-8, then afterwards is maturity. Sexual maturity will be at age 10 too._

 _ **Pteranodons**_ _:_

 _Life expectancy is unknown, so for this story, I'm going to say it's 40 or 45._

 _Flia would be about 15 years of age._

 _ **Brachiosaurus**_ _:_

 _Life expectancy is unknown. 100 years of age will be maximum._

 _Baylene would be about 80 or so._

 _ **Styracosaurus**_ _:_

 _Life expectancy unknown. Would probably be 30 years._

 _Eema would probably be 27._

 _ **Ankylosaurus**_ _:_

 _Life expectancy unknown. 60 years or so would be maximum for the story._

 _Url's about 12 or so._


	3. Reunion

_Hey everyone, Darksage here. Well the holidays are done and school's just started. I've been pretty busy lately (preparing for exams, homework, and all that). But now I'm back and ready for the continuation of this adventure. Just a heads up, I am actually on an internship so my timing on each chapter will be delayed. But I will do my best to get the chapters posted. In other news, this story will also have a collab-writer. I will be working with fellow writer_ _ **Marc Ello-Re Yes**_ _on this fanfic. So please, give a warm welcome to him :)._

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park.**_

Aladar and Flia were stunned at the sight. Now, after an entire year, their dearest friend had returned to them. They did not care how or why she did. What mattered was that she was safe and in one piece.

"Hazel?" the Pteranodon uttered first. "Is that really you?"

The human checked both of her arms and looked down at her legs in a humorous manner before looking back at them. "Uh yeah? I mean there's only one of me."

"I can't believe it…you're really here!" the Iguanodon laughed.

Hazel chuckled. "Well are you guys going to just stand there or do I have to-?" Her remark was cut off by Aladar running towards her.

"Whoa, whoa! Wait!"

This was all Hazel managed to say before she was met with a sudden, yet gentle nuzzle from the rushing Aladar. She fell on her rear from the _Iguanodon_ 's show of affection. While on the ground nearly pinned from the surprise hug, she managed to see Flia walking up to them as fast as she could.

"Hazel!" Aladar cheered out.

"Aladar! Flia! Oh, it's so good to see you again!" she chuckled and stood up to stroke the ornithopod's muzzle.

"Someone is eager to see me." Hazel arched an eyebrow, then put on a playful and joking tone, "Does Neera know?"

Aladar caught her joke and just laughed, "Ha! You're crazy! I'm just happy to see you again." His smile was infectious, that even Hazel couldn't help but grin.

"Hazel where have you been? We were waiting forever!" Flia muscled her way in between him and the human to receive her overdue affection from her best friend. The _Pteranodon_ enveloped the girl in her wings for a hug.

"Well… it's a long story." Her voice was barely heard from within Flia's massive wingspan.

While Hazel was chatting with her friends on the impromptu questions, Nigel was watching on the sidelines with a look of confusion and interest. He saw Hazel joking around with the blue _Iguanodon_ and pterosaur while they responded with soft bellows and squawks respectively. His observation was cut short when the pterosaur caught Nigel in its gaze. Its sudden attention to him prompted the massive ornithopod to look at him with curiosity shining in its eyes. Hazel made her way out of her friend's grasp and patted both of the dinosaurs in a reassuring manner.

"Um… Hazel?" Flia began with uncertainty.

"Who's this? A friend of yours?" Aladar finished Flia's unvoiced line of thought with curiosity.

The woman smirked a little before walking over to her mentor. She then stood next to him and faced her friends.

"Guys, this is Nigel. He's my mentor and a very good friend of mine," she introduced them to the Prehistoric Park creator and her father figure.

"And Nigel, these are two of my friends. Aladar and Flia."

With that, Nigel bowed his head in respect. The duo before him were confused by this gesture and did not know what to make of it. However, in their minds, they assumed that it was a human custom, so they did not question it.

"Um… hello. I'm Nigel. It is very nice to meet you both."

Aladar smiled and accepted the friend of Hazel's friendly advances.

"Nice to meet you. It's an honor to meet another one of Hazel's friends."

"From her own time no less!" Flia cut in, also eager to get a look at the new human.

Hazel smiled and turned toward her senior, "They said hello."

Nigel, now confident that he made a good impression, boldly stroked Aladar's head. He felt all of his rough yet inviting scales. The leader leaned in to his touch, enjoying the feeling of the man's hands scratching in areas he couldn't quite reach. Flia and Hazel beside each other and watched the scene before them with amusement.

"Does he not understand us?" Flia questioned, giving her friend a side-glance.

She shook her head, "No. Only I can. You guys can understand him, but he can't. So I'll act as a translator." Hazel explained to the reptile.

" _Besides, I can barely grasp the specifics of the translator in my ear to properly explain it,_ " she mused to herself.

While this was happening, Nigel continued his scratching treatment of the dinosaur's head, with Aladar enjoying every second of it.

"He's such an amazing creature! And such unique coloration too! He's the one raised on that island you told me about, right?" Nigel asked his junior offhandedly. He was so engrossed in his observation of the large creature, his attention wasn't entirely focused on Hazel's form. She just laughed at how Nigel was acting like a kid.

"Yup! The one and only. And, he's the leader of the entire herd that lives here." Hazel said with pride at her friend's status as Alpha.

Nigel chuckle in amazement at what he learned.

"Is that so?" Nigel calmed down and stopped his ministrations; "It's an honor to meet the leader of the herd then." Nigel formally greeted the now identified leader.

Aladar, getting over his enjoyment of the free scalp massage, tried to save face and not look like Url after a belly rub.

"Ah-yes!" he cleared his throat with an 'ahem'.

"The pleasure's all mine." Aladar replied in a flustered tone.

Trying to suppress her giggling at her friend's lapse in decorum, she continued her introduction of her remaining friend.

"Flia here is the scout for the herd. She flies ahead to report anything interesting or dangerous."

Flia then put on an air of humbleness, yet Hazel could tell she was only barely containing her ego.

"It's just my duties for the group. I don't mean to brag, but I'm the number one aerial scout we have to offer." Flia stated with pride, as she stood tall with her playful posturing.

Hazel rolled her eyes at the pterosaur's self-description.

"Flia, you're the ONLY scout in the herd that can fly." Hazel's deadpanned response took the wind out of Flia's sails. The _Pteranodon_ visibly deflated just a bit. She looked at her human friend and was going to retort to defend her title. Nigel cut her off, unknowingly, as he recalled when he learned of Flia.

"Flia… She's the one that saved you from that pack of raptors. Right?" He looked a Hazel for confirmation, which she nodded.

The flyer's eyes widened because the new human, who she recalled was named Nigel, already knew of her.

"Wha- you know about that?" She was flustered at the man's knowledge. Flia looked towards Hazel, her eyes asking how he discovered that event.

Hazel answered Flia's wordless question, "He's my mentor. I never keep secrets from him." Her explanation sated her friend's curiosity, who now adopted a look of interest on her face.

Nigel walked up to the female scout and gave her a nod in respect, "Thank you for saving her." His tone of respect catching her off guard.

She recovered and nodded back, "Fate brought us together."

She turned and caught Hazel's gaze, both of them sharing a warm smile. Their eyes conveyed what their friendship meant to each other, "and I'm glad I had the chance to find her."

Flia's words were indecipherable to the grateful man, but Nigel felt the tone of what she said and smiled.

"So Aladar. How've things been since I left?" Hazel asked, with her attention on the Dinosaur.

He chuckled, "Take a look for yourself," gesturing behind him. Hazel drank in the sight of the Nesting Grounds that she neglected to see due to the sudden appearance of her friends.

It was just as she remembered it, if not even better. The plants and trees that bordered the hidden oasis were all shades of lush, healthy, green. Many flowers that she overlooked on her first visit were out in full display, also showing off their colors. The massive, crystal blue lake in the center of it all shined and reflected the glint of the sun overhead. This alone made Hazel become enraptured like the first time she traveled there with her prehistoric friends. What completed the scenic view was the Herd.

There seemed to be even more creatures in the Nesting Ground than the first migration. _Pachyrhinosaurus_ grazed on the low plants on the perimeter of the Grounds; other Ceratopsians were basking in the heat of the sun. _Parasauralophus_ meandered about the area, either trotting to their destinations or wadding in the lake for food, releasing occasional honks. Pachycephalosaurs nearby were butting heads for no apparent reason. Hazel could hear a particular pair dumbly laughing as they stumbled away for their next "Macho-man" contest.

' _Well, we can confirm some habits of these guys,'_ she thought as she watched them charge again before they passed out due to blunt force trauma.

Hazel did her best to suppress her laugh at the antics. _"They're definitely not the thinking types."_

"Hazel, is that you?"

Hearing the new yet familiar voice, Hazel turned her attention away from the picturesque view. Trotting up the hill to greet them was a female Iguanodon, her slender build giving it away, but whereas Aladar was blue, this individual had a cream color skin that tapered off to a light fuchsia when reaching her spine and tail. Her soft smile grew when she confirmed that it was indeed the human she knew. Hazel excitedly smiled.

"Neera!" the female Iguanodon rushed up to the human. Hazel then hugged her neck, both greeting each other with mirth.

"It is so good to see you again," Neera said, bringing her paw to gently embrace her friend.

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15 minutes earlier...

Neera sniffed at the pinnate leaves before her. The mating season was upon the herd, meaning that the food was also abundant. The plants were everywhere, but this spot was her favorite. She was at the forest edge, directly north of the cave's position, where the main part of the valley met the tree line. The plants were sheltered by the large leaves of the neighboring flora, which masked the plants from the eyes of other hungry herd members. This meant that anyone who wanted to get at the leaves would have to do a bit of digging through the foliage in order to get at the good part. The female _Iguanodon_ picked out the largest leaf before plucking it off with her mouth.

The lavender female then dropped the leaf on the ground. When she did, a much younger _Iguanodon_ calmly strode forward from behind her. Alden was his name, because he looked like his father. However, his appearance said otherwise. This one had purple scales, cream stripes on his back, and a cream underbelly, like his deceased uncle. Of all of her five children that were born last year, he was the youngest. He and his older brother Talin were the only boys and the rest of the clutch were girls.

That year was a harsh time for the herd, even for Neera. The fireball made the migration that much harder, as there were limited resources and worse conditions than usual. The stress from that migration had done a number on her body. She had laid ten eggs from her mating with Aladar, but only five of them survived. Neera grieved for the loss of a number of her children, but with the help of her new friends and her mate, she pulled through.

"Here," she calmly told him. "Try this."

"What is it Mom?" The youngling lowered his head and sniffed at the leaf in curiosity.

"It's one of my favorite foods," Neera chuckled. "You've been those other leaves most of the time that you've been missing out on the other good stuff."

Alden pawed at the leaf, as if he was making sure it was not alive, before taking a huge mouthful of the foliage. He chewed it slowly, and as he did, he quickly swallowed it. His mother was right, it was good! He took another huge mouthful of it and devoured the whole leaf in no time. When he finished, he moved over to the cycad plant and ate away at it.

Neera took a step back so she could better watch her son eat his lunch. Like a mother was with her children, she was very protective of him. It wasn't only because she deeply cared for her children and wanted to keep them away from danger. Alden was also a special case. Even though he was the son of Aladar, his appearance made him a target of a number of the herd members, even their children. Her own father had the same coloration as her brother, and because Alden was of that same line, he had inherited that trait.

A number of the herd members were veterans at migrating. And all of them were pressured under her brother's leadership. When Aladar took over, they looked up to him as their protector and a true leader, while they demonized Kron. Even though she too hated all the actions he had done in the past, she still missed him as he was her only family. Now her son was getting the short end of the stick, all because they are afraid that he would end up just like his uncle due to his appearance. Neera had scolded them a number of times, telling them that her son was nothing like her brother. And it was true, Alden was the complete opposite of the deceased leader.

Alden was a compassionate, mild-mannered, friendly, empathetic, and always curious about the world around him. At the same time, he was shy and sensitive, which made him a target of bullies. Of course, his brother and his friends would be there to protect him if Neera was not in the area, but even with the amount of protection he gets, he is still a victim. How could a little boy like Alden be like his uncle? He is nowhere near that point and even if there was a chance that he would get to it, Neera would not let that happen.

The little purple ornithopod gobbled up his fifth and final cycad leaf. Once he swallowed it, he turned around and went over to his mother. He stopped and looked up at her.

"Thanks Mom. That tasted really good," he simply said.

"You're welcome Alden."

"Mom!" another voiced called out from near the lake.

Neera turned and looked left while Alden did the opposite on the right to see the source. They saw that running towards them was a young blue-green _Iguanodon_ , a cream-colored _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , and a dark blue _Parasaurolophus_. They stopped within a few feet from the mother and son and heaved in deep breaths from their running.

"Talin, what is it?" she asked her eldest son.

"Nothing really," he replied after taking in another breath. "Except, we saw-"

"Something in the cave!" Tirech the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ interrupted. "They were bigger than us but smaller than you."

"And they looked weird too! We don't know what they are!" Charon went next and then straightened up.

"Slow down kids," Neera calmly eased them. "What happened? What did you see?"

Talin took in another deep breath and then started to explain. "Okay. Well it started while we were playing tag with Dad. I was about to tag him when suddenly stopped and looked at the cave. I didn't know if I saw right, but I saw Flia just standing there. Dad told us to go on without him so he could check on her, and we did, but-"

Once again, Tirech butted in. "But then Talin got the idea to go and check on them. We wanted to know what they were talking about so that maybe we could help. So we went over there and hid behind a couple rocks, but when we got there, some weird…THINGS came out of nowhere!"

"Things?" the adult female inquired. "What do you mean?"

"Well we don't know how to describe them. They were on two legs, but not like a predator. They didn't have tails or claws. And their legs looked really weird," Charon explained in an intellectual tone. "They…looked kind of like Plio, Yar, Zini, Suri, and the rest of their kind."

It was at that last sentence that Neera realized what they were talking about. She let out a quiet gasp before gazing at the cave. Without a word, she sprinted over to the large gaping hole, leaving the surprised younglings behind. They turned and watched her go into that place where they were just at.

"Mom?" Talin called after her.

Moments later, little Alden sprinted after her. His curious nature got the best of him, as he wanted to see what his brother and his friends saw. He did want to stick around and ask them questions when he could just go there and find out for himself. The children that were left behind looked at each other before following them as well.

"Mom wait!" Alden yelled. "Wait for me!"

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Nigel couldn't be more amazed by this moment. Sure he had been around prehistoric creatures during his entire career as the head of Prehistoric Park, but being able to converse with them was a completely new feeling. First he had met the leader and scout of the herd, and now, through his student, he was talking to another member of the herd. According to Hazel, the lavender colored _Iguanodon_ that had appeared before them is the leader's mate.

The dinosaur was cautious at first when she approached him, but then she calmed at the human girl mentioning that he was a friend. The introductions went off smoothly just like they had been previously. Then it transitioned to a conversation about catching up. From what Nigel could interpret from the young woman, the herd had been through a lot in their last migration and had arrived back the Nesting Grounds just a few days ago. Under Aladar's leadership, they were able to make it there safely and with little casualties.

The man knew about animal migrations. He should know as he was also a zoologist. Animals migrating would face a lot of factors that would be stacked against them, such as little food and water, fatigue, and predators. The herd faced all of those, but with little casualties. Something like that was very uncommon. Nigel wanted to know about how they did it. Or more importantly, how Aladar led the herd.

" _I think I'll ask Aladar about that later or in this case, ask Hazel to ask him,"_ he thought to himself. _"Either way, his leadership sounds very intriguing."_

"So how is Plio and family?" Hazel asked them all.

"Oh the usual," Aladar quickly replied. "We found another clan here."

"Seriously!? That's awesome!" she cheered. "Sounds like there is an extended family now."

"Yeah emphasis on extended," Flia interjected. "I counted at least thirty of them when we first arrived here."

Hazel made a short whistle that went from a high note to a low note. "That is a lot."

"Yeah. Yar is still hanging in there. But he and Plio are now in charge of the clan. Suri's getting pretty big, and Zini is…well…still Zini," the blue-green _Iguanodon_ explained.

One of the eyebrows lifted on Hazel's face. "Zini is being himself? How so? Is that a bad thing?"

"Yup. He managed to get all of the cute girls to like him…somehow. And no, it's not."

"Oh lovely! He's now got his own posse! Or clique…or maybe I should call it a harem."

Zini…that name rang a bell to Nigel. They were definitely talking about the lemurs that had traveled with the herd. At the mention of the lemurs, the scientist remembered that day when Hazel told him there were some living in this era. The news of a species of lemur in the Late Cretaceous baffled him, as they did not arrive at least until the Eocene period.

Nigel quickly added into that by leaning in a little towards her ear. "Zini, who is that again?"

"Aladar's adopted uncle and what I would call prehistory's first Casanova," Hazel clarified.

"Ah," went the man. "I would call it a harem then."

They all laughed at that for a few moments. When that was done, a moment of silence once again permeated the atmosphere. Hazel was about to talk about something else when she caught sight of some movement behind Neera. She had to squint in order to make out what it was, but when she did, the shape quickly retreated behind the adult's leg.

"Uh Neera," Hazel noted and looked up at her. "I think there's something behind your leg."

At that remark, all of them diverted their attention to Neera. When they did, she looked just as confused as them until she decided to go and investigate.

"What?" she reared her head back in confusion and then craned her body to look back. When she did, she noticed that there was something hiding behind her. Neera couldn't make out the full shape, but she could tell what it was due to the purple scales she saw.

"Well looks like someone followed me," she noted. "Come on out. It's okay. Don't worry, they're not going to hurt you."

On command, at least it took a little bit of time for the figure to step forward from the safety of the adult, a younger _Iguanodon_ came into view. Hazel gasped quietly at the sight. In her mind was a mixture of shock, curiosity, excitement, and a hint of fear. It was a juvenile _Iguanodon_ , and there were so many things about this one that stood out at her. The young ones she saw last year were either a light brown, dark brown, or a dark blue in color, but this one was different.

"Hey Alden! I didn't see you there!" Aladar greeted.

"Oh my goodness!" Nigel slightly laughed as he knelt down to get at the little one's eye level. "A juvenile _Iguanodon_!"

"Neera, Aladar, is this one yours?" she guessed as she gazed on him. The young one backed away slightly when the human asked that, but was then gently pushed forward by Neera's left hand.

The female nodded at that statement. "Yes. This is Alden, the youngest of our clutch."

"Clutch!?" Hazel nearly lost her footing at the mention of that. "You mean there's more!?"

Nigel could not help but shake his head at that reaction. It was really funny and he loved it whenever his student reacted to the smallest, or even most important, of news such as that. From that reaction, he also noted that the juvenile coming towards them was one of the children of Aladar and Neera.

"Uh huh," Aladar agreed. "Three girls and two boys."

"You don't say…" she said and then knelt down next to Nigel to greet Alden. The purple-scaled child slowly walked towards them, showing every inch of shyness on his face. He then stopped when he was a mere foot from the figures.

"Hello Alden," Hazel started.

"My name is Hazel. And this," she gestured to the man at her right. "Is Nigel. We're friends of your parents."

The child did not say anything at first, and it took quite some time for something to come out. When he finally spoke, it was in a soft voice. Hazel, and even Nigel even though he couldn't understand a word he was saying, could clearly see that he was very timid yet was doing his best.

"Hi…I'm Alden…" he quavered. "It's…nice to meet you…"

The girl then extended her right hand out to him in a greeting gesture. She wanted to stroke him on the head, but would only do that if he allowed her to.

" _This Alden…he may look like his father, but he has the coloration of his uncle Kron,"_ Hazel thought.

" _Now his appearance would have to be related to genetics. Perhaps his grandfather on his mother's side had the same sort of scales? If so, then Alden here would have inherited that trait."_

Alden sniffed at the appendage. He had seen the lemurs a lot in the forest and still found them curious, but seeing these…creatures has made him all the more bewildered. He cautiously came closer to the hand and found himself being touched by it on the head. He shivered a little at the sensation, but then relaxed as he found it felt good. The palm went around his head as if it were a gentle massage. The little quadruped relished in the feeling. The other adults watched in satisfaction and were entertained by the sight of their friends getting to know the youngest son of the leader.

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Meanwhile…

Nearby, Talin and his two friends had just arrived a few minutes ago to see the new arrivals. They didn't want the arrivals, or the adults for that matter, to notice they were there so they hid themselves behind the left wall of the cave and peered inside. Tirech was below and in front of Talin while Charon, who was able to stand on her hind legs due to her physiology, peered right above them.

The trio of children watched in astonishment at the two newcomers interacting with the adults. Sure they had only seen them from far away, but now they could see that these creatures were so much more than appearance. At first, when they saw little Alden come closer to them, they thought that he might be in danger. But then, how could he if the adults were there and they were so calm about it? When they watched Alden relax and allow the female thing begin to touch him, they started to become even more curious.

"Wow…" Charon said in amazement. "These guys look really weird, but they're so gentle."

"What are they?" Talin wondered.

"I don't know," Tirech answered. "Other than wanting to get to know them, I really want to know what that other guy is."

Talin shook his head in confusion and then looked down at the ceratopsian. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that huge weird thing that's close to those two-leggeds," he said, gesturing over to the left of the humans.

The other two children looked over there and saw what he was talking about. Close to where the humans were was the jeep that they brought with them. It just stayed there with a blank stare. It had no eyes, but the headlights at the front of the vehicle looked like they were. Its back was open, as if something could just come in and crawl inside. Its legs were odd-shaped like rocks. Finally, it had no tail, teeth, claws, or even a mouth!

"Okay I see what you mean," Talin breathed out.

"We should go ask them!" the young girl in the group suggested in a whisper.

"No way!" the _Iguanodon_ yelled in a loud whisper. "We should probably wait a little longer. At least until it looks okay."

"Uh it looks okay from here. They're not attacking the others. Plus, Alden seems to like that other one there," Charon pointed out.

"Yeah I think they're okay," the young _Pachyrhinosaurus_ quipped.

"Tirech-"he yelled quietly again.

The _Parasaurolophus_ rolled her eyes. "Oh for the love of…"

With that said, she used her strength to push Talin forward, causing him to yelp. She also used her head and strength to do the same to Tirech, only this time, he rolled forward once and landed on his stomach.

The commotion attracted the attention of every adult in the cave. All of them turned to the left of the cave to see the three bewildered youngsters staring up at them. Both Tirech and Talin got on their feet and huddled together. Charon let out a huff and quickly ran inside to inspect the two humans.

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"Um…" Hazel uttered. "Okay…I didn't think there were more newcomers here."

"Hey look who just joined the welcoming committee," Aladar joked.

"More juveniles? Well this group just keeps getting bigger and bigger," Nigel slightly laughed.

Talin nervously laughed as he kept shifting his feet. "Uh hi everyone. Um, don't mind us. We were just passing by. We were playing but then we tripped and ended up here."

"Uh huh," Charon said with a hint of sarcasm. To Hazel, this female hadrosaur had a lot of sass and intelligence. Her voice sounded mature for her age, more like a teenager's rather than a child. "Keep talking Talin. I'm sure everyone believes you."

"Charon!" he objected at the female who was now standing before the two humans.

"Please," she scoffed and returned her attention to Hazel and Nigel.

"Sorry about that. They were pretty nervous in meeting you so they needed a push."

"I see…" the girl acknowledged. "Charon is it? That's a nice name."

"Yup," she nodded. "And you are?"

Hazel cleared her throat. She then put a hand on her chest then gestured to her mentor. "Hazel. And this is Nigel."

"Hazel? Why does that name sound so familiar?" the youngster questioned. To Nigel all he could hear were squeaks and honks from the young lambeosaurine.

Just then, the other two children came up and stood right behind the dark-blue _Parasaurolophus_. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ stood on the right while the _Iguanodon_ stood on the left. Like Alden, these children were all up to her knee, so they were pretty small. Hazel deduced that they were at least a year, maybe a little more, of age. The ceratopsian had a cream-colored appearance, much like the adult counterparts. His frill was not so pronounced with color as he was too young to show any of that. The bump on his snout was not even that pronounced either. As for the _Iguanodon_ , he had blue-green scales and a cream underbelly, just like Aladar. Comparing this one and Alden, he was taller than him by a couple inches.

"Hi, I'm Tirech," the frilled one introduced. To Hazel, his voice sounded squeaky, almost as if he had a cold. To her, it sounded quite adorable. In Nigel's perspective, he heard grunts and barks.

"Talin's the name," the final herbivore went. "And I see you met my little brother, Alden."

"Oh, so you're also the son of Aladar and Neera," she noted. The pieces were put together and now she had met the two boys of the leader and his mate.

"Nice to meet all of you," she said politely.

The girl looked at Nigel and explained what they just told her. "So the young _Parasaurolophus_ is Charon, the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ is Tirech, and the _Iguanodon_ is Talin, who is Alden's elder brother."

"Ah I see. I'm sure you're thinking this too, but I think they're quite adorable," he told her with adoration.

"I know!" her face contorted into one of adoration. "They're so cute!"

The children blushed at that comment and did their best to hide it. In fact, that comment warmed them up a little. In their minds, they now know that these humans definitely did not mean any harm.

"Forgive me for asking," Charon piped. "But how do you know Aladar, Neera, and Flia?"

"Oh," she fell silent as she did not know how to start it off. It was a long story and she didn't know if she could explain it in a short way. More importantly, she was trying to find a way to explain it without bring Prehistoric Park into the mix. "Well you see, I-"

"Oh kids…" Flia called for them. All of them focused on the Pteranodon behind them. Apparently she had managed to sneak up to them, causing them to jump a bit. Aladar and Neera chuckled at that and continued to watch them from afar.

"Haven't you forgotten the story we told you before? About how the big bad Carnotaur was defeated and how the herd was saved?"

Hazel squinted her eyes at that. Big bad Carnotaur? Herd was saved? It was those two phrases that made her realize that Flia was referring to the day Diablo was defeated and how the whole herd made to the Nesting Grounds. But due to the pen name of Diablo, Hazel had concluded that the adults had retold that event to their children as a bedtime story.

"Oh yeah!" Tirech jumped in realization. "I remember that story! Some time before we hatched, the herd was traveling to the Nesting Grounds. They walked far and wide to get back home, but a number of them did not make it. They faced many challenges, but their final challenge came with the big bad Carnotaur. He stood there, blocking the way into the Nesting Grounds, ready to devour them all!"

Charon quickly came in to finish the story. "But then the herd was saved and everyone made it home all thanks to you, Aladar, Neera, and…"

The little girl gasped and quickly turned around to the human. "I knew it! You're Hazel! The Hazel from the story!"

" _Theory proven,"_ she confirmed. She was also shocked at the fact that these children were regarding her as a sort of celebrity.

"Oh wow!" Talin cheered. "So you're the one who helped my dad and Flia take down that big predator!? Awesome!"

Hazel put a hand on the back of her neck. "Uh…yeah I guess."

"What?" Nigel asked her. "What's going on?"

"Apparently I'm like a celebrity to them," she explained. "I'll explain later…"

Aladar's eldest song went up to her and put his hooves on her knees so that he could get up to her eye level. "So you actually battled another Carnotaur in this cave on your own? Ooh ooh! And did you really take on a whole pack of raptors all by yourself?"

Hazel's eyes widened at those questions. "Um…yes and no on the first one? It's complicated. And yeah I did."

"Cool!" he cheered. The girl breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she had satisfied the children's curiosity and had found a way to speak the truth without confusing them.

Hazel jumped in surprise when she felt a soft nudge from her left side. Talin had gotten off of her and backed away when she did that. She looked there and saw the little Alden nudging her softly. She did not know how he got there so quickly, but that did not matter.

"Um, excuse me miss," he kindly acknowledged. "I was wondering about something. What are you? And what is that?"

The little one looked over at the distance to their right and was staring at the jeep they had brought along from the 21st century. Hazel mouthed an "oh" and nervously chuckled when she looked back at the youngsters.

"Right, I forgot about that. First off, Nigel and I are creatures known as humans. We're not from around here obviously. And second, that thing there is what's called a jeep."

"A jeep?" Charon wondered. "What's that?"

"It's one of the things we humans use to get around. We're not exactly that fast on our feet."

It was at the mention of the jeep that Hazel had thought about something. They were already in the past, 65 million years ago. This place is the same place as Prehistoric Park. It hasn't really been fully explored even though she visited it before. Which had given her an idea…

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I was last here. I want to check out the whole valley. And maybe give the others the surprise of their lives," she suggested with a smirk.

"Hey that's a great idea!" Neera agreed. "It's your first day back, so why not kick it off with a tour of the place?"

"Yeah and we can lead you guys around!" Talin added and was referring to himself, his troupe, and even his little brother Alden.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Hazel nodded.

Nigel clapped. "A tour of the valley sounds like a splendid idea. I could even use this time to collect some samples and study the inhabitants of this valley!"

All of the dinosaurs/flying reptile looked at him in confusion. An awkward silence filled the air. The human woman swallowed before briefly explaining what her partner meant.

"It's…something he likes to do. Don't worry, it's harmless."

"Okay…?" Aladar answered in confusion. "Well, whatever the case, we'll lead you around the valley to help you get familiarized with the place."

"Sure thing. You guys can do that with Nigel," Hazel quickly said. Once again, they were confused and watched the traveler.

"Huh? Hazel, you're not coming?" Neera inquired.

She immediately answered that. "Oh I'm coming. I'm just going to be using a different approach."

All of them watched the girl get back on her feet and make her way to the jeep. Once she made it to the vehicle, she opened the left door wide open and partially climbed in. Hazel bent down and reached for a certain item in the back. Once she had it, she brought it out for all to see. In her arms was the leather saddle Nigel had given to her just before they left for the past. The dinosaurs eyed the object in wonder. Nigel guessed what was going to happen next and said nothing.

"Uh…Hazel?" Flia asked her and saw that her scouting partner was looking at her mischievously. "What is that thing?"

"Flia?" she grinned evilly. "Hold still."

 _And done! That ends Chapter 3. Alright, so like I said before, the time in between each chapter will be extended because of work and school. I'm sure you're wondering where Plio, Baylene, Eema, Zini, Suri, and Yar are at. Don't worry, they'll pop up in the next chapter, along with another new character (or two). Oh and one last thing, I know that there are cases in the animal kingdom where incest would occur. But this story (and future ones) will not have it. So Alden is definitely and absolutely the son of Aladar and Neera. His scale coloring is just due to genetics from his mom's side of the family. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for Chapter 4_


	4. Saddle Up!

_**Soundtrack:** **Fighter** **by** **Crystal Strings**_

"WOOHOO!"

Many dinosaurs' going about their day now had their attention skyward. They could see Flia soaring through the sky. While that is usually normal, the scout has been subdued the past year. When the herd reached the Nesting Grounds, she would always wait at the edge of the entrance looking like a wilted flower. Now, it was like a new pterosaur replaced Flia.

"My word. Flia seems rather lively today," a certain sauropod said, eyeing the scout.

"About time the girl got out of her funk. Making even me depressed!"

Baylene drifted down towards her longtime friend, Eema the _Styracosaurus_ , who was currently sunning herself. Near the two elders was Url, he was rolling in the sand dunes trying to scratch a particular itch.

"Come now darling. Flia was just waiting for Hazel's return," said the _Brachiosaurus_ , who defended Flia's past moping. This earned her a scoff.

"Hazel said she would visit," her friend dismissed her.

"When she come, she will. No need to wait like Url begging for scraps." Said Ankylosaur's head shot up in attention to Eema at the call of his name.

"Regardless, I for one am glad she has lifted her spirits up," Baylene looked towards the sky again to see the scout make twists, turns, and daring maneuvers. She narrowed her eyes, something off about Flia catching her eye. "What in the world is that on her back?"

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In the sky…

"Yeah! This is AMAZING!" Hazel couldn't help but yell out in joy.

"NOW I KNOW HOW HICCUP FEELS!" she said referencing a character from one of her favorite movies.

Flia just chuckled to herself at her friend's excitement.

"You know," she started. "You're going to have to tell me what you mean when you say weird stuff like that."

If Flia's passenger heard her, it was lost over the winds of their current speed. Before, the pterosaur had to take it slow due to Hazel hanging on her back. This "sa-dell" thing made it so her friend can hold on more securely while going at faster speeds. Sure it was stiff in some areas, but it was a good tradeoff to share this with her friend.

Hazel herself was enjoying her time in the sky. Her time co-scouting with Flia in the past didn't offer the same level of enjoyment as it did now. To her, it was just a job. Hazel had to take constant care of never leaning too far off of Flia and to have a firm grip on the pterosaur's shoulders or neck lest she fall off mid-flight.

Now, she could feel the speed of her flying friend's powerful wings; each beat accelerating them through the ancient sky. The wind danced through her hair as she reveled at experiencing Flia's gift of flight in a more carefree situation. Besides, who can openly say they flew on a _Pteranodon_?

"Enjoying yourself?"

Being pulled back to reality, Hazel patted her friend's neck. "Well, now I can fly with you at your normal pace."

"That's a plus. Couldn't cover nearly as much ground back then with you nearly falling off my back."

"What do you mean 'nearly'? The first scouting flight we did, I fell off," Hazel remembering that particular incident, "I was dropping like a rock!"

"Well I did catch you, didn't I?" retorted Flia, who playfully poked fun at her friend. "I didn't realize humans could sound so shrill."

"Hey! I prefer piercing! Piercing sounds less insulting."

The _Pteranodon_ just rolled her eyes at her friend's attempt to save face.

"Man, this view is awesome though," Hazel said, finding the amazement of the aerial view again.

They were now gliding, over the high cliff walls surrounding the grounds. The vegetation seems to be branching out slowly from the paradise, making the once barren land filled with life again.

"The greenery seems to be coming back." Hazel pointed out from the vantage point.

Flia glanced down before responding, "Yeah, it is coming back nicely. Granted, it's not as much as before the fireball, but stick around for the next migration and it'll be back to its former glory."

Hazel stiffened at that, being reminded of her real reason of being here, ' _that's right…the Fireball destroyed most of the land. And now another one 35,000 feet in diameter is going to be the final straw for these guys! I have to tell them soon…but if I do…then…"_

With her friend's mood being felt, the sky scout glanced over her shoulder with worry.

"Hazel? Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm good," she said as she tried to force a reassuring smile.

"Just… thinking of…" Hazel trailed off, fishing through her mind for a believable excuse.

"Thinking of?" Flia prompted, now curious of what has gotten her friend so tongue-tied.

Just as Hazel was about to reveal her purpose to the flying reptile, a strange sound caught the _Pteranodon's_ attention.

"What is that noise?" tilting her head in curiosity.

When Hazel listened in, she released a breath she didn't realize she was holding in relief. ' _Thank you Nigel!_ '

"You might want to make some room Flia." Shifting her weight on the saddle to the left prompted her friend to do the same.

Flanking them in the sky, was a white and red paraglider plane. The out of place machine buzzed beside the inflight duo. In the pilot's seat was Nigel waving at them.

Hazel looked at him in confusion. Wasn't he supposed to be with the others touring the valley? She thought about that for a moment then realized that he most likely wanted to join her in the sky so that he could get a better view of the valley.

"What in the world?" Flia was confused at what was sharing her air space.

"It's just Nigel. He must have made a quick trip back to the present to get his plane," she explained over the screaming engine of the vehicle.

Hazel then witnessed him making several gestures to the both of them. She got the gist of it and smiled as Nigel's plane pulled forward.

"Why does he have that thing?" the _Pteranodon_ wondered while watching the machine now fly ahead of them.

"Nigel just challenged us to a race," the human hollered over the fading engines.

The two shared a look, with Hazel raising a brow. "Think you can keep up?"

With her competitive nature taking hold, she smirked and simply replied, "You better hold on. Because I'm not catching you again with my pride of a _Pteranodon_ on the line."

With that Hazel tightened her grip around the holds and lowered her body just as Flia shot forward. They sped forward like an arrow to overtake the plane that had a significant head start on their impromptu competition. As they flew, Hazel pushed her worry to the back of her mind … for the time being.

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A few minutes ago…

Nigel left with the herd leader and his mate for his tour, leaving Hazel chasing after her pterosaur friend with her saddle held above her head. It amazed him that one of his staff was chasing after the massive winged reptile. The two alphas of the herd, Aladar and Neera as he recalled, gave him a tour around as the young ones ran off to go play again after nudges from the lavender female.

Although he was excited to see the many species and learn about the environment, it was a challenge. His enquiries were met with confused looks from both Iguanodons as they tried to decipher his meaning and intent. Nigel also struggled to understand the meaning of Aladar and Neera's bellows as they tried to answer his question of what types of plants the herd normally eats. It was a struggling game of charades between him and the dinosaur pair.

After a few hours, Nigel opted to do some solo researching, much to the relief of the two ornithopods.

'It wasn't their fault I suppose,' Nigel mused, as he overlooked some styracosaurs sunbathing.

It was times like this that Nigel regretted not making an additional translator, but the design and technology alone was one reason why Hazel had her current model. This came from his own personal budget so that put strains on his bank more than he would like.

With Hazel's translator, Nigel got permission to roam around and observe the herd without worry. It was certainly a change from the "running for his life" that was the norm when he normally went out on his expeditions to the past. Without that though, Nigel felt like the odd man out.

Hazel being able to hold civil conversations with the herd and the residents back home left Nigel in the dark on to how these creatures actually thought. When he saw Hazel with her group of friends it was like getting only half the conversation.

Nigel's lamentations were broken when he heard a sudden and loud cheer echo from the sky. He smiled when he saw Hazel airborne on her pterosaur friend. Figuring he could use a break, he made haste back to the cave, while calling out he would be right back to the two-flustered alphas.

He needed to get something back home.

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Back in the present…

Marcus wasn't having a good day.

Marcus Rey is the park's chief engineer. His job is to maintain the machines, security systems, and enclosure systems of the park. The greatest piece of technology he had the pleasure of working on were the time poles, the corner stone of Prehistoric Park. He nearly nerded out when Nigel approached him for this job. While it bummed him that this whole sanctuary was a world secret, he didn't mind. He was just honored to be included, even if it was behind the scenes work.

While his job as an engineer wasn't so out of place in the park, his knowledge of accounting did raise a few eyebrows. His family sent him to some high affluent business school that he didn't particularly care for, thus his change in profession, but the knowledge of said school stayed. It came in handy when overlooking what the park can do with its budget.

Which brought about his current concern.

He had to find Nigel and inform him of some future problems that the park will face.

After wandering around several enclosures, he finally found one of the senior staff to ask for Nigel's whereabouts. Bob was tending to the _Ornithomimus_ flock's needs when Marcus approached him.

"Hey Bob, have you seen Nigel?"

The keeper turned to see a young man in his mid-20s. Like the other workers, he was wearing the green polo short-sleeved shirt uniform of the park. Because he was an engineer, he wore blue denim jeans as his job would get messy sometimes. On his head was a red, hard hat with the park's logo on it and his favorite yellow, polarized goggles around his neck. He also had a tool belt that he always wore with various tools hanging that were not in their proper place.

Bob shrugged his shoulders. "Knowing that man, he's probably running around the Permian era."

They both shared a laugh at their superior's knack for getting in trouble. After their bout of amusement, Marcus decided not to mince his words.

"I need to find Nigel and talk to him about something important."

This tonal shift concerned the senior park keeper, "Nothing bad I hope? Are the perimeter collars on the fritz? Don't need the twins or that Carnotaur running about."

"No no, it's not that!" Marcus assured the man. "The collars are working just fine. Although that last incident is what landed me this job, with me improving the security and all. Speaking of the breakout, I should probably go over those plans for the 'Barrier dome' again. They could be improved upon if I can replace the coils with something that can retain their charge without burning out so quickly. Maybe if I have a series of them working in tandem…"

He was brought out of his technical musings when he saw Bob's eyes starting to glaze over.

"Argh! Stop distracting me!" Marcus said, pointing accusingly at the keeper.

"I need to talk about the stabilit-!"

He cut himself off when he noticed the man he was looking for rushing towards the park's vehicle department.

"Crap! There he is. GOTTA RUN!" Marcus ran off, only to quickly return to keeper.

"Thanks for the help Bob! We should talk more often."

He then sprinted off again to catch up to his boss, leaving Bob confused at the scene.

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"Nigel wait! I gotta talk to you!"

Marcus just caught up to Nigel as he was preparing his plane.

"Ah, hello there Marcus! Can't talk for long, just came back for my plane," he called over his shoulder as he made his engine check.

"Nigel, I have something I have to—NO WAIT! Use the Two-and-Three-quarters wrench. It'll reach the rotor's screw, and fasten it better," he suggested, cutting off his original thought to ensure the para-glider would run efficiently.

"Oh, thanks mate!" Nigel quickly corrected his mistake and used the suggested tool. With that, he finished his preparations and boarded his vehicle.

"Thanks Marcus! Was having trouble with that last lug-nut. I'll see you in a few days!"

"No wait, I still need to talk to you sir!" Marcus cried out but his voice was drowned out by the para-glider's engine starting up.

"Don't worry Marcus. We'll talk when I get back. I have to get back to the past, Hazel is still there."

"Hazel? What's she doing in the past? Wait scratch that, going into the past is part of the job. Wonder what you two will bring back this time? Gonna have to expand the 'Perimeter Barrier' to make more space for the new residents—."

While Marcus was going off on his technical tangent, Nigel just shook his head at the engineer's ramblings in good nature as he activated the vehicle depot's time poles as he urged his plane forward.

Marcus shook out of his ramblings by the time machine's activation, once more remembering his purpose of chasing down the explorer.

"Nigel wait!"

" _Oh curse my ADHD,"_ he mentally cursed.

"WAIT! The park can't take more residents! Our finances can't cover the cost of housing them! Nigel? NIGEL!" His message was lost as the front of Nigel's plane was already through the portal.

If Nigel heard anything Marcus said, he gave no indication of it as he disappeared through the hole in time. Seconds later, the portal closed off, indicating his traveling to the past was completed.

Marcus stood there. He silently felt like falling to his knees at not getting his message across to his employer in time. The engineer sat down at the workbench, which Nigel sat on to repair his plane, and face-desked, himself on the side table that accompanied it.

He'll have to wait even longer to tell his boss that Prehistoric Park may be facing its own "extinction event" if their financial problems are left unresolved.

"Sonnovah bitch…"

 _AN: Tada! That's my end of my chapter._

 _Hello reader name's Marc and I would like to thank my new best friend DarkSage for giving me this opportunity to assist her in telling this amazing story. Go easy on me guys, this is the first time writing something this grand, and Sage has a few more notches on her belt when it comes to fan fics when compared to me._

 _Leave your comments in your review!_


	5. Old Friends and an Ardent Opposition

_Hi guys, Darksage here with another chapter for this story. This chapter was actually done by both me and Marc Ello-Re Yes. Hope you like it!_ ** _Disclaimer: We do not own Prehistoric Park or Disney's Dinosaur. We also don't own any mention of other stories. Just the characters we created._**

While the prehistoric sky became a racetrack for the pterosaur and two humans, the beings earthbound were going about their day. Many saurians grazed on the ground eating their fill. While the herd was living on the ground, in the treetops, a group of ancient primates were prospering as well.

Plio sat on a high tree branch overlooking her family and "neighbors". They were fortunate that the troop of the Nesting Grounds were so open to outsiders joining them. All the lemurs were sympathetic due to the Fireball's destruction last year. Plio and her father Yar found themselves thrust into the position of leadership of the new troop of lemurs. Their previous leaders perished in the aftermath of the Fireball's strike, from the rockslide that sealed the original entrance to the valley, leaving the lemurs of the Nesting Grounds directionless before her family appeared.

It was a seamless transition, now Plio is the matriarch with Yar offering his experience to help lead.

She was munching on a leaf from one of the native trees while many of the others were eating their midday meals. Many of the adults were staying on the treetops, interacting and grooming each other happily. The adults, she later found out, never interacted with the migrating herd members, saying they were, "dangerous monsters, especially that purple one!" Plio and her family were quick to resolve the problem and put their fears to rest. Although they don't fear their larger neighbors, instilled fears can't be changed overnight.

The youths however, were on ground level having their "Beach party" at the lake shore, with her brother as the main attraction. Plio would always wonder how her brother's… charming personality managed to put him in the center of attention. Snickering at the absurdity of Zini's popularity she caught sight of her youngest child, Suri, fiddling with a round fruit in her hands, lost in her thoughts.

Her darling daughter has grown much in the past year. She is now starting to leave her juvenile stage and into adolescence. Concerned for her lack of appetite, Plio leaped and swung her way towards Suri's direction to see what was troubling her.

"Hi sweetie," she gently greeted as she sat next to her daughter.

"Hi Mom," Suri replied while not looking at her.

Plio watched her fiddle with the fruit a little longer before turning her attention to something else that her daughter had.

Wrapped around her wrist was a peculiar rope with a ring attached to it on both sides. The ring itself was silver in color and had tiny shining stones around it. The other lemurs who noticed it wondered what it was and whenever they asked, Suri would just simply reply "it belongs to a friend of mine".

"You okay?"

The matriarch's daughter shook her head. "No."

"Something tells me you don't want to talk about it. But I can guess it has to do with a certain friend of ours," she intuitively guessed.

Suri turned to her mom, now holding the fruit a little tighter. "Mom...is Hazel coming back?"

Plio heaved out a sigh and then put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I don't know sweetie."

The little lemur felt her eyes burn a little, as tears started to form. "Do you think...she forgot about us?"

The head of the new lemur clan shook her head. "No Suri. I don't believe Hazel would, she's our friend. She must have her reasons for taking so long."

"And besides," she added. "She never really left."

Suri sniffled and wiped a stray tear from her left eye. "How so?"

Plio did not respond to that. Instead, she used her index finger and touched her daughter's chest, which was where her heart was.

"Friends do not just disappear. They are always with you. Hazel will return. It may not be tonight, or tomorrow or-"

"Plio! Plio come quickly!" a voice sounded from nearby them.

The matriarch turned around and saw a pure white lemur with a black tip on her tail come towards them. This lemur was about the same age as Zini and had gray eyes unlike the other lemurs. She hopped from one branch, then swung on one before completing her final transition to their tree with a somersault from an outlying tree limb.

"Aya, what is it?" Plio asked.

"Something is flying this way!" the young female lemur exclaimed with worry.

"What? What's coming?"

Aya shook her head. "I don't know. The others are wondering what it is too. It's big, and bright, and really loud!"

Right when she said that, a mysterious bellow roared from the sky above them. Determined to investigate, Plio, Aya, and Suri climbed up the branches with ease. Then, when they got to the top, they slowly parted the leaves above them and poked their heads from the treeline.

All of them let out a gasp and quickly ducked as a huge red and white creature zoomed passed them. Once it was gone, they slowly perked their heads out and watched it fly away. What was even more odd was the fact that the herd's scout, Flia, was flying right beside it.

"What was that!?" Suri shrieked over the sound of the fading engines.

"Some kind of flying monster?" Aya wondered and looked at the elder leader.

Plio continued to watch the strange object and the scout in the distance. She could have sworn that she saw something on the Pteranodon's back. Whatever was on her back was something that was able to hang on to the scout during flight. As she watched them, she noticed that the strange rider had a hint of black hair on the head.

The matriarch's eyes widened and a big smile appeared on her face. Both her daughter and fellow clan mate looked at each other in confusion.

"Mom?" Suri started. "Why are you smiling?"

"Suri, you can stop worrying now. Because our friend has kept her promise."

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The "Past vs. Future" air battle ended as Nigel had found something in the valley that interested him. He signaled what it was and that he would be back later as he broke off from Hazel and Flia. The duo continued flying, performing cool tricks and daring stunts, before coming to a decision to take a break from flight for now. Landing on the banks of the valley's lake, Flia and Hazel were exhaustedly laughing, the pair recounting their midair competition against Nigel and his plane.

"That was the most epic flying I've ever seen! We were like—we were like—Heck I don't know, but it was awesome!"

Flia just chuckled at the human's fractured thoughts of their flight. She watched as the human paced back on forth, trying to form words on describing the amazing experience they both had just been through. "Having trouble there, friend?"

"Hey, don't blame me! I'm just calming down from my adrenaline-high. My brain is all weird right now," Hazel pouted, defending her inability to describe the amazing experience.

The human was now unfastening Flia's saddle before removing it off her back. The pterosaur stretched her wings and flexed her posterior. Hazel heard the tension of her friend's body release in a series of pops. While the sounds made her cringe a little, she was expecting that sort of result. The purple flyer was trying out the new human craft; in fact, she compared it to a woman breaking in some new shoes.

"That 'sad-dell' thing is really cool Hazel, but it is a bit stiff around my shoulders," Flia said as she rolled her shoulder, working out the knot there.

"Couldn't make that sharp turn during the race with Nigel's 'Pear-a-Plane'."

"I don't know Flia, that sounds like an excuse to me," Hazel tapped her chin in a fake contemplating look. "Maybe you're NOT the best flyer of the herd."

"Hazel! Have you no pity!?" Flia played along with the human's faux insult. She put on a look to save face, making her appear larger than her smaller confidant. The herd scout was about to combat the human's playful remarks until she caught sight of a certain creature coming on to them fast. She could not help but put on a devilish smirk.

"As my ex-best friend, I won't save you from the vicious 'monster' about to keel you over!"

' _Vicious monster? What in the world is-!_ ' Hazel's thought was cut off as something DID proceed to barrel into her, knock her on her back. The saddle she held on to fell nearby.

Her assailant was a small ankylosaur… well small when compared to every herd member here. He was a brown of various shades that decorated his armored body. Hazel immediately recognized the armored dinosaur by his lolling tongue, which was giving her face an unscheduled 'slobber bath'.

"AH! URL STOP!" Hazel laughed as the ankylosaur proceeded on licking her like an oversized dog. Only this dog had a tongue with the width of her torso. That meant Url was pretty much soaking her entire body in drool. She felt the enlarged taste buds rub against her body like large pebbles. The sensation she felt was like one of those three-pronged back massagers going through her body.

"FLIA HELP ME!"

The traveler reached out to her friend and playfully asked for mercy. What greeted her was her pterosaur friend shaking her head in amusement at the scene and answering Hazel's pleas.

"No way Hazel. You guys need to catch up. Besides, I could go for a snack after that workout. Catch you later!"

Flia took off to catch fish in the lake, leaving her friend to her "gruesome fate". She glided gracefully through the air as she approached the extent of the lake. Being a _Pteranodon_ , her diet consisted of fish and occasionally crustaceans. The lake in the valley had an abundance of fish, more than enough to satisfy her needs.

"TRAITOR-! AH, STOP THAT TICKLES!" Hazel called out to her best friend as she was being tortured by the dog-like armored dinosaur. Thankfully, the attack did not last much longer. Url kept licking his long lost companion until he heard the call of his masters.

"Url! Get off that poor girl or no ferns tonight!" said a sassy old voice that Hazel recognized.

The ankylosaur scampered off and towards his masters. Hazel stood up and wiped as much 'dino-slobber' off as best she could to greet her rescuers. When she caught sight of the familiar forms of a stout, elderly ceratopsian and a towering sauropod, she could not help but shoot a smile at them.

"Eema! Baylene!" she waved at them after making herself as presentable as possible. The girl stood up and straightened out her clothes, though she could not do very much about the slobber that was now all over her.

"Well look who decided to crawl back to us!" the _Styracosaurus_ said in a sassy tone.

"Hazel darling!" the elder _Brachiosaurus_ laughed and then craned her neck down so that she was at her level. "It's been far too long! I thought we'd never see you again!"

The human chuckled at that and shrugged her shoulders. "Likewise. Sorry I didn't come back sooner. A lot of things came up back at home. But I'm back now!"

"And just as quirky as ever!" the ceratopsian commented as she eyed the attire the twenty year old was wearing. "You look different hun'. What on earth happened to you?"

Hazel pointed a finger up. The Asian was expecting that sort of question. Pretty much anything about her was just about as alien to them. Nevertheless, she did not mind at all. She was eager to tell them more about herself, even if it was in small details. "Two words Eema: wardrobe change. That and I got a haircut."

"SNEAK ATTACK!" a squeaky voice erupted from behind her.

The human quickly turned around and yelped as a yellow furball with a dark brown face collided with her face. Said furball wrapped its arms around her head so that it wouldn't come off. The excess of hair blocked her nostrils, making it hard for her to breathe. Even the feel of all of that hair rubbing against her skin tickled her a little.

"Agh! Something's on my face!" Hazel's exclamation was muffled under that mat of fur.

"Haha! I got you! This lemur's got skills!"

The young woman grabbed both sides of her attacker and pulled him away from her face. She coughed a couple of times before her vision readjusted. When it did, she was staring into the face of a familiar, yet scrawny, mammal.

Hazel knew of this attacker. This creature was in fact one of the lemurs she encountered during her solo mission many months ago. There were four lemurs she got acquainted with and all of them were very close to the valley's herd leader. The reason being they were the ones that considered the cerulean male as part of their family. The meteor from last year destroyed their island home, leaving them homeless. That was until they encountered the herd some time later.

The lemon-colored primate that was in her hands was none other than Zini, Aladar's adopted uncle and one of his best friends.

"Zini! I should have known it would be you! You little scuzzball!" she playfully remarked.

The crazy primate lifted both arms up in a defensive manner. "Aw come on! Aren't you going to say hello?"

Hazel eyed him suspiciously then let him down before her. She squat on the grass, contemplating on how to "punish" her assailant. "Gee I don't know...should I? You did interrupt my conversation with Baylene and Eema. I think you should be punished for that. What do you ladies think?"

Baylene let out a huff and played along. "Well he was rude for doing that. I say throw him in the lake!"

Eema laughed after that. "Or throw him at Url!"

Hazel watched them in amusement then turned her attention back at the lemur in her custody. She gave him a mischievous grin before lifting him up again. Zini let out a yelp from the surprised grab. He was helpless as he was now in the grasp of a much larger primate relative.

"I think I have a better idea…"

After standing back up, she brought him close under her left armpit and rubbed his head with her right fist. She made sure that it was not too hard, as doing so might hurt him. Her usual strength on this sort of action would have injured his tiny head. But the thought of giving this sweet revenge was what she was truly after at the moment.

"Noogie!" she yelled with an evil laugh.

"Ow!" the lemur cried as he was suffering under the pressure on his head. "Stop it! That hurts!"

After a few seconds of senseless torture, Hazel then moved Zini so that he would be close to her chest. She wrapped him tightly in a huge embrace. In return, the lemur did the same. "Oh it's so good to see you again."

"Same here!" the lemur agreed. "You came right on time! I kind of need your help with something."

Hazel's left eyebrow went up at that phrase. "With what?"

The lemur squirmed within the human's embrace until he was close to her ear. Hazel leaned in, eager to hear what he had to say. Zini being this secretive was something new to her. He was always vocal about things and was not afraid to hide his feelings.

"Having a lot of girls is fun, but the courtship ritual is tomorrow. I need some advice on what I should do to get 'The One's' attention," he said in a whisper.

"The one?" she whispered. After thinking on that for a moment, it had dawned on her that he was referring to his one and only. "Oh...I see what you mean."

Just then, a symphony of calls from the lake shore about twenty feet from them attracted everyone's attention. They all looked at the lake shore and saw a group of female lemurs waving and jumping as if they were trying to call them over. The lemur bachelor in Hazel's arms waved back and climbed out of her embrace. He landed gracefully and started hopping towards the group of girls.

"Well I gotta go! The ladies are calling me!"

Hazel shook her head and smirked. "Have fun Casanova."

Eema let out an exasperated sigh. Anyone who paid any more attention to the elder would have seen her eyes roll. "That Zini. Sometimes I wonder if he'll ever leave that womanizing attitude."

"Hey at least he's not hitting on Neera. Aladar would give him hell for that," the human slyly remarked.

"Hazel!" another voice called out at her from her right.

She looked and saw the young children from earlier run then stop before her. The one who had called out to her was Talin, who was at the very front of the group. To his left were Alden and Charon, and at his right was Tirech.

"Hey kids," she greeted.

"Oh I see you've met the children already?" Baylene sweetly inquired.

The girl looked at the sauropod who was peering down from the same direction and nodded. "Sure did. They're cute little scamps."

"Hi Eema. Hi Baylene. Hi Url," Talin greeted the old ladies and the dog-like dinosaur. Said Ankylosaur perked his head up from a short nap next to his master and watched the youngsters.

"Hello children," Baylene greeted. "And how are you today?"

Both of the elders and Url knew of these children well. Two of them were the sons of the alphas of the herd. In fact, they witnessed them and their sisters hatch from the shells that nurtured them for so long. As for the young _Parasaurolphus_ and the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , they were the children of other members of the herd. They hatched last year as well, not long after they made it back to the Nesting Grounds. Because of their closeness to Aladar and Neera's sons, they too considered them as part of the family.

The same could be said in the children's case. The quartet had treated the elders as their grandmothers. They did not care if they were of separate species. Baylene and Eema helped raise them, and even played with them in the past. And like them, they treated Url as part of the family too.

"Great! We were playing tag, but then we saw Hazel riding on Flia," Charon quickly explained.

"And it was awesome!" Tirech jumped at that. "They were flying wildly around the place and then this huge thing popped up and flew with them!"

The human giggled. Apparently these children had been watching the whole race between her, Flia, and Nigel. Hazel became happy to hear that the kids were entertained by it, even though there really was no clear winner.

"Oh yeah!" the _Styracosaurus_ piped. "Completely forgot about that. You know what that thing is Hazel?"

"Yes Hazel!" the elderly sauropod added. "My breath was taken away at the sight of that thing!"

Hazel shrugged her shoulders. Apparently, she should be used to explaining a lot by now. "It's called a Para-glider. My friend Nigel was riding it. We humans aren't exactly fast on our feet, and that's one of the many things we use back at home to travel."

Eema gave her a look of confusion after hearing that explanation. "Para-glider?"

"And who is this Nigel?" Baylene questioned.

The human looked up at the sauropod and was about to explain. At least, she was about to until Alden cut her off. Although his tone of voice was soft spoken, everyone could make out what he was saying.

"He's...one of Hazel's friends. He came along with her."

"Yeah he's one of my friends from my time," Hazel briefly explained, expanding on that statement.

"My word!" the sauropod gasped. "Another that is just like you?"

"Oh yeah!" she answered with a dismissive wave of her right hand. "I'll introduce you to him when he's done flying."

"Splendid! I look forward to meeting him," Baylene smiled at that.

"Same here," replied Eema. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

Hazel, the children, and the elders continued to talk for a few minutes after that. The conversation started from what the herd went through the past migration, to the changes that had happened since then. According to the elders, not much has happened, save for the returning greenery in the feeding grounds, the growing number of members, and all that jazz. Other than that, nothing much has changed. They were also intrigued by the saddle Hazel had put on Flia and asked her about it. The human merely told them it was so that she could hang on to the _Pteranodon_ while she was going at faster speeds. Said saddle lay next to her, flat on the ground as if it were a doormat. The conversation about the flight did not last long, but sometimes they would stare at the odd leather item.

After they spoke for a while, the youngest child departed from the group. All of them watched him as he headed for the nearest part of the lake.

"I'm going ahead to get a drink. I'll catch up later!" Alden said, finally becoming comfortable around Hazel to act carefree.

He was so busy parting with his friends that he didn't notice the large body that he bumped into.

"OOF! Oh, sorry mist-!" Alden's voice was caught in his throat, recognizing who was glaring at him in disgust.

"Watch where you're going you little runt!" The mature _Iguanodon_ growled.

Alden trembled and tears started to form in his eyes. Hazel caught sight of that and furrowed her eyes.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't mean to—"

"Weak and pathetic as always. Least you could have done was to stay out of my way!" The _Iguanodon_ practically roared at the now weeping youngster, who was curled into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"HEY! The kid said he was sorry. No need to be a dick about it!" Hazel was tearing her way towards the pair to come to Alden's defense. The saddle from earlier was in her arms, as she did not want anything to happen to her birthday present.

As Hazel drew closer to the aggressor she scrutinized his form closely. Compared to the bright coloration of the dinosaurs she saw so far, this one had a deep forest green tone with dark brown stripes offsetting his form running down his back. The _Iguanodon_ was the same breed as Aladar, standard attributes of the species but no nose ornamentation like the former leader Kron or Bruton, but he was stockier and well muscled in form. A scowl was permanently etched onto his face due to the brutal scar that ran over his left eye.

"And who is this?" His attention now focused on Hazel, who was doing her best to meet the irate ornithopod's accusing glare with a glare of her own.

"Name's Hazel. I'm a friend of this kid's father," she introduced in a defensive manner. When she stood before him, she put the saddle down to her left so that it would be out of harm's way.

The large _Iguanodon_ stood straight and eyed her maliciously. "Ah. So you are the two-legged from before."

Hazel put her hands on her hips to make herself look tougher. "Oh, so you know about me. I'm honored."

"Listen here short-stack," he hissed. "Any friend of Aladar is no friend of mine. That guy's ways are making the herd appear weak!"

The girl scoffed at him. "Weak!? I'm sorry, but his compassion is what kept the herd alive!"

"Yeah!" Alden jumped and stood next to the brave human. "My dad's a hero!"

"Quiet!" the adult dinosaur boomed, which caused the youngster to take a few steps back. In contrast, Hazel stood her ground and continued to glare at the new enemy.

"Compassion is what makes one weak! Aladar is just that. Every time we migrate, stopping for the weak and sickly slows us down and makes us vulnerable. Survival of the fittest. That is the law of the world."

Hazel clenched her fists. Hearing those words had brought her thoughts back to the time when she worked for a certain dictator. She was getting tired of that, always remembering that dickish leader from before. Hazel should have moved on from him, but it would seem that there would always be those that share his ideals.

"Didn't you hear what I said bub? If that never happened, then the herd wouldn't be what it is today!"

"And who are you calling sickly?" Eema said from afar.

The dinosaurs and human turned to see the elders and the other children approach them. While the old ladies lumbered as quickly as possible, Alden ran over to them to get away from the intruder as quickly as possible. The other children stood their ground and continued to stare at the opponent.

"Stay out of this you old hags!" the bully sneered. He then returned his gaze to the stubborn human before him.

"They are the prime reasons as to why this herd is weak. A true herd would not stop for the weak or slow down for them. Survival for the many requires sacrifice for the few."

The idealist seemed to have gone into a rant, proving to Hazel that he has stated his views to many others in the past. This angered her even more, as he had just shown his true colors; a power-hungry bully that wanted nothing more than to have the title as leader just to get respect from others.

"The herd deserves to have a strong and powerful leader. A leader that is intolerant to the weak and sickly!" His gaze was now fixated on the forms of Baylene and Eema. As for Alden he was hiding behind the former's titanic leg to avoid his glare.

"Wha-! My word! You uncouth ruffian." The aged _Brachiosaurus_ sputtered out, now leering at the vulgar _Iguanodon_. "Such rude behavior will not be tolerated! How dare you treat those that are weak and defenseless? Among all of us here, you are the most disgraceful, inconceivable, cur that has ever been born!"

This was the first time Hazel witnessed the gigantic sauropod become flabbergasted and outraged at anyone. She was about to defend her friend, but Eema beat her to the punch.

"And boy, I am old! Not sickly. I would like to see you running around like a spry hatchling when you reach my age. IF you don't get eaten first."

Eema was matching the burly one's burning glare as she scolded him.

"And as for being 'weak', me and Baylene migrated more times before your parents even THOUGHT of rearing your ungrateful hide!" She bellowed at him, voicing her displeasure of his thinking.

Said dinosaur seemed to have been stunned into silence. Clearly, he was outnumbered seven to one. His infuriated expression and immediate silence was comparable to a young trainee at a military boot camp on his first day.

Hazel smirked at the sight of the elders telling the bully to back down. From watching them verbally duke it out with the newcomer, she wanted to contribute as well. The girl could not help but feel empowered and satisfied at the verbal defenses being thrown at him. This fight was for a good cause after all.

"What was that about the weak and sickly? They would slow the herd down? Looks like you need to rethink that because you've just been owned by a couple of grandmas."

The burly, green herbivore gave them a loud snort then turned away. He marched off with a huff, hiding his defeat from the others on his face.

"I've wasted my time with you lot…" he grumbled and marched away off to their right.

Once the herbivore disappeared, the children ran up to the front and faced the adults, including the human. All of them had faces of amazement and wide eyes.

"Wow…" the young _Parasaurolophus_ breathed out. "That was amazing!"

Hazel blinked at them and nodded at the compliment before returning her gaze at the bully in the distance. He continued to march on, and as he did, some other herbivores that came his way scurried off in the other direction. She shook her head and looked back at the youngsters.

"What's his problem anyway?"

"That's Nero," Tirech squeaked and took a few steps towards her. "I heard that he's been wanting to succeed the previous leader all his life. But that never happened because Aladar got it."

"So he's Kron Jr.," the human concluded.

Eema sauntered forward until she was standing next to Hazel. Her presence surprised her a little, but then she relaxed when she found that it was the elder _Styracosaurus_. Although her hide was mere inches away from her skin, she could feel the warmth coming from the stout ceratopsian's body. Whether it was from bathing under the sun's rays or the natural body heat Eema was letting off, her body was like a walking heater.

"That one is as stubborn as a stick in the mud. He's too much like Kron...almost as if he's become what he's looked up to."

The time traveler said nothing at that. Instead, she looked at the children before her and then knelt down on one knee. "Kids, you stay away from him, okay?" she implored. "I don't want you getting anywhere near him. He's bad news."

"We know," Charon nodded.

Hazel became relieved when she heard that. At least these children know full well what danger is when they see it. The human then gazed at Alden, who was looking down at the grass next to his brother.

"Alden, you okay?" she called to him.

The little _Iguanodon_ perked his head up to look at the two-legged. His eyes were a little watery, but after blinking a little, they dried up.

"Yeah I'm okay…" he said quietly.

"Good...but you know, there will be times when there won't be anyone to protect you. Sometimes you have to stand your ground. If you don't, then you'll be everyone's punching bag."

"But Nero's-" he said but was then interrupted by her.

"A bully. I don't care that he's a million times bigger than you. He's just a bully. You can take him," she reassured him.

"But he's bigger than me!" Alden complained.

Hazel shrugged her shoulders at that statement. "So? Size doesn't matter. Sometimes the littlest things can make the biggest impact. Here, I'll tell you a story."

The human sat down and crossed her legs. The children lay on their stomachs and listened intently on the young woman. As for the elders, they calmly stood there and awaited the girl's sermon.

"Once, there was a human boy, much younger than me who lived in a valley with his brothers. In the place he lived in, a giant would always come terrorizing his home. His brothers were called by their friends to defeat the giant. The little boy wanted to go with them, to help in the fight."

"Did he?" Charon wondered.

Hazel shook her head in disagreement. "No. They told him to stay behind. All because he was too little."

"Well that stinks! If I were him, I would have gone anyway!" Tirech exclaimed.

Talin pushed him hard with his left hoof, causing him to roll on his side. "Tirech, don't interrupt! I want to hear the rest of the story!"

The human was amused at the sight. She cleared her throat and continued. "As I was saying, the boy was deeply saddened by the fact that he couldn't go and help his friends. So he stayed behind…at least, that was until he decided to follow them. He followed them to the nearest river, where they would do battle against the giant. Time passed, and the giant came. It was a huge human, at least the size of Baylene."

"Whoa!" Tirech rolled right-side up at that and smiled. "Are there really big humans like that!?"

Hazel laughed. "No, but if there were, I'd be pretty amazed. Like I said, this is just a story."

The _Pachyrhinosaurus'_ enthusiasm became deflated, but then recovered. All of the youngsters gave him a stern look before eagerly watching the human for the rest of the story.

"Anyway, the giant defeated his foes in the blink of an eye. With swipes and stomps, he sent the little guys running. The boy, who was hiding behind a rock, was horrified to see his brothers so badly beaten. Angered by this, he stood up, marched over to the giant, and faced him."

She took a breath and then boomed in a deep voice. "'I have defeated all in my path. Is there no one else who can face me?'"

The children, and even the elders, laughed at the human's impression of a gigantic human. Hazel, who tried to keep a straight face, even gave in to the humor that she created.

"Okay okay, on with the story," she coughed out. The others stopped laughing and became quiet again.

"The boy called out to him and the giant looked down. He eyed the boy for a moment before breaking into a fit of laughter. The little boy stared up at him, not amused by one bit."

"'Listen here you!'" said Hazel who was referring to the boy. "'You've beaten up my brothers and terrorized my home for the last time! I'm here to take you down!'"

"The giant ceased his laughter and glared at him. 'They sent a little boy to defeat me?' he bellowed. 'I will squish you like a bug!' The boy glowered up at him, clearly he was not having that. 'I may be small, but I can still take you down!' With that said, he took a large rock and threw it at the giant with all his might! The rock slammed against the giant's head and knocked him over!"

Every mouth on the children fell open at that revelation. Granted the story they were listening to was good, but a rock defeating something that big sounded impossible.

"Wait, a rock beat him?" Charon inquired. "That shouldn't be able to do anything."

"I'm not done yet," Hazel answered. The children's mouths slowly closed as a result.

"Really?" Talin wondered. "What happened next?"

Hazel smirked and continued. "The giant got back up. He lifted his great foot up and proceeded to squish the boy. The boy, being faster than him, dodged the move. The giant did it again, but the boy rolled out of the way."

The girl took out the dagger she had on her belt and showed it to the children. They stared at it, clearly mesmerized by the new object that glittered in the sun before them. It was a good thing Hazel had gotten her dagger out of her bag when Nigel wasn't looking earlier. She had retrieved it along with Flia's saddle while they were still in the cave.

"The boy unsheathed his dagger, much like this one, and started slashing away at the giant's legs. The enemy cried out in pain at the new wounds he was getting. Finally, the boy jumped up and stabbed his weapon into the giant's toe!"

The girl with dark hair lifted her dagger up from its sheath at her side and jabbed it into the ground, burying it into the mud. She then let it go and let it stay there, as if it were the fabled Sword in the Stone. The younglings gasped and stared at the dagger before looking back at her.

"The giant was defeated. He hopped away, clutching his foot, and was never seen again. The adults had witnessed the fight and were amazed by how strong the boy was. They lifted him up in their arms and took him home. And that night, they had a feast to celebrate this victory. The end…"

Silence fell over the group. The children looked at the human in amazement at the story she had just told. Never before had they heard a story like that.

"Wow...so a little guy beat up someone who was a lot bigger than him?" Talin questioned.

Hazel nodded. "Yes. But fighting isn't always the answer. Sometimes there are other ways. And I'm not telling you to be mean either. Anyway, there are many lessons to this story: two of them I want you all to remember. First, size does not matter. The only thing that determines whether the situation is impossible or not is you. The boy did not care about the size of his opponent. And it was because of his belief and his courage that he won the battle. Second…"

She took in a breath as that whole thing was a mouthful. "Don't underestimate yourself. You're YOU, and no one can change that. If you underestimate yourself, then you won't be able to conquer the challenges before you. After all, you're braver than you think."

The sauropod leaned down again at the children. "She's right you know. You may be small, but you have strength that far exceeds what you think."

"And don't just compare this story to Nero," Hazel further explained. "Think about it on all of life's problems."

The children looked at each other and then back at the adults. Their faces, which were once riddled with fear from Nero, now beamed with possibility.

"Thanks Hazel, Eema, Baylene," Talin said and then ran off from them. The other children did the same and followed their leader.

Hazel clapped her hands up and down as if she were rubbing the dirt off of them. Afterwards, she retrieved her dagger, put it back in its sheath, and stood straight up.

"Well, that takes of that."

"Nice going kid!" Eema congratulated and nudged her a little. "Never heard of that story, but who knew you could say big words like that!"

"I would have said it in a shorter way," Baylene said haughtily, "Of course, that was if I had knowledge on that matter. But your version was acceptable."

The girl shrugged her shoulders and lifted her hands up halfway for a moment. "Hey, kids love stories."

" _Little do they know that the story's name is David and Goliath...Hazel style,"_ she mused to herself.

Just then, the plane from earlier returned from the far side of the valley. The vehicle zoomed overhead then over the lake in a circular motion. Good thing Flia wasn't there as it would have disrupted her lunch, which had ended earlier. The elders, human, and other dinosaurs in the area watched it as it descended into the cave.

"That your friend you were talking about?" Eema said as she stared at the plane.

"Yup, that's Nigel. I'm guessing he's had enough flying for one day. We'll wait until he comes out so I can introduce you to him."

The _Styracosaurus_ chuckled. "Has he seen Plio and her family yet?"

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Nope, but I'm guessing he's going to have a heart attack when he does."

With that said, all of them waited at the lake shore for the return of the park creator.

 _And that's the end of chapter 5. Well, looks like Hazel is quite the storyteller. Also, two new characters have arrived. But what role will they play in this story? And what will Nigel's reaction be when he meets the lemurs? Find out next time on Dinosaur: A Prehistoric Park Adventure :)_


	6. Growing Fear

_Hi guys, here's the next chapter to the story! I don't really have a lot to say, except enjoy!_ _ **Disclaimer: Marc Ello-Re Yes and I do not own Prehistoric Park or Disney's Dinosaur. Only the characters we created.**_

The first thing Nigel did after returning from the present to drop off his plane was to get to Hazel. Last time he saw her, she was at the edge of the lake with a couple of other dinosaurs. He only glanced at them once, but he was knew that he saw a giant _Brachiosaurus_ , an aged _Styracosaurus_ , and a dwarf ankylosaur.

Once he passed through the portal, he ran up to the entrance of the cave and looked over the valley. The portal behind him closed, sealing the rift of time, at least until he or Hazel open it again. It was at least the middle of the afternoon; the dinosaurs were still going about their business, the wind breeze blew softly, the sun was still high, yet it was starting to reach the horizon.

He looked at the lake's edge and noticed his friend and partner waving at him near the same dinosaurs. Nigel waved back and went over to them. As he ran, he glanced over at the lake, as he wondered where the _Pteranodon_ named Flia went.

" _She must be off somewhere else…"_ he assumed. _"That race probably exhausted her."_

The man finally stopped before the young woman and her other friends after what seemed like an eternity. In reality, it had only been about 7 minutes of running. Nigel bent down and put his hands on his knees, thankful that he could catch his breath.

"Phew…should have used the jeep to get here," he laughed weakly.

"Yeah you should have," Hazel simply replied. "That was fifteen minutes Nigel. That included you flying to the cave and coming back."

"Hazel, this the guy you were talking about?" the _Styracosaurus_ behind her asked. The old woman stepped forward a little to get a closer look at the newcomer.

"Yup," she looked back and then gestured a hand before her to the head of Prehistoric Park. "Ladies, and Url, this is Nigel."

The man let out a few exhausted breaths. He then put a finger up instead of waving. Apparently he was still worn out from running. "Please to meet…your acquaintances…"

"Oh…" the _Brachiosaurus_ uttered and then lowered her head down to his level to inspect him. "How do you do, good sir? Are you alright?"

"Well," Eema chuckled. "Looks like this one's about to keel over."

Hazel rolled her eyes at the sight. "Oh come on Nigel! You've been running from predators for years! A little jog like that shouldn't be much of a hassle."

Nigel slowly got back up and looked at both her and the herbivores. "I'd like to see you try to return a plane then run all the way back to the portal then. See how you like it."

The girl playfully scoffed and gestured to the sauropod, ceratopsian, and ankylosaur respectively. "Anyway this is Baylene, Eema, and Url. They're the first dinosaurs I met when I first came to this era."

"I see," he nodded. "I'm Nigel. Sorry about that. Had to run back to drop something off."

"Oh it's quite alright," Baylene kindly dismissed. To Nigel, he only heard a series of low bellows.

"And my goodness…" his mouth fell agape at the sight of the towering giant. He quickly got over to her and observed each and every part on her body. Baylene was surprised by his reaction at her and tried to watch the human as he went around her. She reared her head back in surprise as a result. Hazel and Eema watched in astonishment at what he was doing to the elder sauropod.

"This is the _Brachiosaurus_ you spoke of right?" Nigel remarked as he began to inspect her toes. "The Brachiosauridae family was supposed to have thrived from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, and yet this one survived to this time! How did they do it? Was it something they ate? Did they live somewhere where they escaped extinction? How old is she?"

Nigel's crazy observations on the giant elder raised eyebrows…er…ridges if you count the dinosaurs. Hazel became slightly embarrassed by what he was doing and the old women were in utter shock. The only one who was watching him indifferently was Url, who sat next to his startled master like a dog.

"Nigel…" the human groaned. "Knock it off…you're embarrassing me!"

"Hazel, what is your friend doing?" Eema strongly demanded.

Hazel shrugged her shoulders in guilt. "He's…just being himself. Looks like you've got yourself a fan Baylene."

The bystanders could clearly tell that she was starting to become uncomfortable with the man's constant inspections. Baylene would back up slightly or even lift up her feet just so that she would avoid stepping on him by accident.

"Oh my! Hazel, I am happy that you have brought your companion along, but this is starting to become stressful for me!" she complained.

Baylene did not need to tell Hazel twice. She was already embarrassed to the point where her face was about to turn red. "Okay Nigel! I think that's enough. You're scaring Baylene."

"Oh whoops!" he stopped in between her legs as he was right under her. "Sorry about that. Got really excited there."

"Oh it's quite alright. Just don't do that again," the long-necked one said quickly as she composed herself.

When Nigel took a few steps back to admire her and the other dinosaurs around her, Hazel walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. The man looked to his right and saw her smiling up at him.

"She says it's fine, just don't do it again."

Just then, a series of pants off to their right were heard near the Styracosaurus. Both humans turned there and were flabbergasted to see an overexcited Url come at them. Hazel let out a yelp and jumped away from the attacker. Landing on her stomach had put her out of harm's way, but Nigel was not so lucky. He put his hands up as if to tell him to stop in a useless attempt to slow him down.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" he screamed and then was tackled to the ground.

Like before, Url towered over the human and then put his snout close to his chest. The armored herbivore opened his mouth and then licked Nigel all over his body.

"Agh! Knock it off! Hazel! Tell him to stop!"

But she did not obey him. In fact, all of them were laughing at the sight. To Hazel, this was a moment that she did not want to ruin. In fact, in her mind, she felt that if Nigel were to be accepted in her circle of friends, he should at least go through some orientation ceremony.

"Well would you look at that!" Eema exclaimed. "Url actually likes the guy!"

Hazel let out the last of her chuckles before making her way over to the ankylosaur. By grabbing on to one of his spikes, she slightly nudged him away to signal him to back off. The dog-like tank obeyed and backed away to give the new human more space.

"Ugh…gross…" Nigel groaned and then sneezed. He slowly got up and wiped most of the slobber off of him. "I never thought an ankylosaur would be the one to take me down. Or even give me a drool bath!"

"Hey, that's Url for you. He's just showing his way of affection. He's kind of like a pug," she explained. "An armored, one and a half ton, pug."

Nigel chuckled at that. "Does he take dog treats then?"

"Girl, I'm just going to say this," Eema started as she went up to inspect the man again. When she did, Nigel was startled a little bit by her sudden appearance. "But this is the most interesting creature I have ever seen. If Url has warmed up to him this fast, then I've got no reason to fear."

"I agree. If he has taken good care of you, then he is good in my perspective," the elder _Brachiosaurus_ agreed.

"I did not understand any of that," Nigel blurted out. "But I'm guessing they're saying they've accepted me as a friend."

Hazel put her hands on her hips and sighed. "Sure did."

The ceratopsian gasped and took a few steps back in surprise. "Wait hold on! You saying this fellow didn't even get any word we were saying?"

The girl eyed her in disbelief as they did not catch on to that earlier. "You didn't notice? I'm kind of the only one here that can understand you guys."

"Oh then how can we communicate with him if he cannot understand us?" Baylene inquired and stared down at the woman.

Hazel turned around and looked up at her. "Easy. I'm the translator."

The _Brachiosaurus_ widened her eyes and nodded once. "Ah yes. That would work."

After a moment, the girl let out a gasp. After all this time since they had arrived, she had forgotten about a certain group that also lived in the valley. She had not seen them once, except for a certain yellow-furred mammal and his troupe of girls. If Nigel had not met them yet, then they must do so now.

"I just remembered! Eema, Baylene, have you seen Plio, Yar, and Suri? I'm not sure if they know I've come back."

"Oh yeah!" the ceratopsian replied and then gestured over to the forest a few ways from them with her head. "They're over there. Except for our friends, those little furballs spend most of their time there. I'm guessing they're not used to a whole group of folks like us."

Both humans turned around and looked at the forest. Nigel then leaned over to his companion and whispered something in her ear.

"Plio, Yar and Suri? Who're they?"

"They're the lemurs that raised Aladar," Hazel simply answered.

It was at that statement that the explorer's face beamed with excitement. Since the day Hazel had told him of her first encounter with the lemurs, he had always wanted to investigate them. From his knowledge on evolution, he knew that primates and human ancestors did not appear on this earth at least until after the dinosaurs died out. Hearing about the existence of a new species of primate in this time was not only mind-boggling, but it also defied everything they knew about human evolution.

"You're joking!? They're in the forest!?" he jumped and ran straight to the mysterious part of the valley.

"Yeah! Nigel wait up!" Hazel cried and bounded after him.

Eema shook her head in amusement at the sight of both humans running off. Baylene stood next to her travelling companion to watch them as well.

"Well someone's excited…I wonder if our friends would pass out at the sight of them?" the elder horned-one mused.

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At the same time…back in the park

While Hazel and Nigel were getting acquainted with the inhabitants in the Nesting Grounds, things at the park were going smoothly. The sabertooth cubs are in the peak of adolescent hood and are now displaying their aggressive nature with mock fights, of course not towards the keepers. Martha and the herd of elephants are relishing in the plains outside of the park. Little did they know, their space would be next to the plains of some larger "neighbors" who were coming very soon.

Life is going on in the park. Everyone is welcoming the warmth of the spring season. Well...almost everyone. Two certain therapods are finding it difficult to enjoy the time as they have...other reasons.

Over at T. rex hill, twins Terrence and Matilda have been uncomfortable in the situation they are in. Just yesterday, young Hazel had established a barrier in the enclosure just to separate the two. By now, everyone in the park knew that this was her attempt to have them get along. Some questioned her strategy, as it would only create an even bigger rift between the twins, while others saw it as a good idea to let them bond. It was anyone's guess.

The younger twin Terrence eyed his sister cautiously as she walked back and forth in front of her side of the fence. He had been watching her for the last hour or so and wondered on why she was doing that. Was she plotting on what to do once their sentence was up? Was she trying to find a way to bypass the fence to get at him? He had no idea…

Both twins remembered Hazel's words and were annoyed by it. If they would be able to get along by the end of two weeks, then she would take down the barrier between them and return everything back to normal. Neither of them liked this situation, as their living spaces had been reduced to a more uncomfortable setting. Plus, they did not know what she meant by "back to normal".

"So...how're you doing Matilda?" Terrence called out to his sister.

The larger female stopped pacing and stared at her brother. She gave him a toothy grin and responded. "Alright. You?"

Terrence was flabbergasted at her response. He shook his head and took a few steps back. Had his sister lost her mind? Did she really become more well-mannered after the talk yesterday?

"Um...fine. I'm fine," he bluntly replied.

Just then, he noticed some movement at the other side of their paddock. He looked to his right and noticed one of the keepers watching them. In his hands, he had a large plastic bag that contained a large slab of meat. Terrence, and soon Matilda, caught sight of it and noticed that it was their lunch. This man the twins recognized, as he had a balding head and a gray mustache.

Before Hazel left with Nigel for the past, she had informed him, Suzanne, and pretty much everyone in the park about her plan for the Rex twins. She told them to keep an eye on the twins to make sure that they were not going for each other's throats, even though there was a fence there. In addition, she also told them to give the twins one giant meat carcass for their meals, as they needed to learn to share. Thanks to the built-in trough in the middle of the barrier, all they had to do was slide the food in.

"Well would you look at that…" Bob said after he whistled. "They're actually getting along!"

He then put an open hand next to his mouth to amplify his voice somewhat. "Keep this up and your sentence will be over sooner than you think!"

With that said, Bob went over to the ladder up to the top of the enclosure, attached the meat on the crane, and activated the switch on the side that would bring it up. As it ascended, the keeper quickly traversed the ladder while he kept track of the meat. When he reached the top, so did the food.

It did not take very long for him to undo the harness and to place the cow carcass into the trough before him. He pushed the meat into the tunnel and watched as it landed into the holding trough below. The tunnel was made of pure titanium, a metal that should be able to withstand any damage the rexes would do to it should they try to tear it apart.

He listened in the tunnel until he heard the meat land with a satisfying boom. Before climbing back down, he gave the rexes one last look. The twins slowly stepped towards the meat and gave it a few sniffs. Bob then turned and walked away once he was at the bottom of the ladder, satisfied that he had done his duty with the twins for the day.

That victory was short lived however, as he started to hear snarls and roars from behind him. He sighed and shook his head in disappointment.

"Guess I spoke too soon…"

Behind him, the Rex twins were arguing over the meat and were attempting to take it for themselves. The food was still in the trough, but both rexes were trying to get possession of it. As of now, Matilda had a majority of the meat in her mouth while Terrence was trying to get his share.

"Stop stealing my meat!" Matilda yelled while she had food in her mouth. With a tug, she brought the meat over to her side, but was then yanked forward by her brother getting his share.

"Too bad fatty!" he objected and used his strength to yank the meat over to his side.

Terrence pulled the meat so far that Matilda was leaning to close to the "Perimeter Barrier" that activated their collars. The results were what you would suspect.

*BZZZZT *

"YEEOOWW!"

"Haha! You're right Sis. That was entertaining!"

"YOU ARE DEAD TO ME TERRENCE!"

It looks like their chances of getting off the hook early are pretty slim...

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Meanwhile, back in the Nesting Grounds 65 million years ago…

Hazel and Nigel had just passed the forest tree line. Just earlier, the young adventurer had introduced the elders of the herd to her mentor. The introductions went well…with Nigel going all spastic over Baylene, which had made her uncomfortable. Thanks to Hazel, however, that act had been settled and they now view him as a friend. In fact, Url seems to have taken a liking to Nigel, in the form of giving him a slobber bath like he did Hazel.

"Ew…who would have thought that ankylosaurs would be like dogs?" he grossed out by inspecting his shirt, which was damp from Url's drool.

"Well it's probably just Url," Hazel explained and used her dagger to cut away at a few leaves in their way. "Each dinosaur is different, so it's probably just his breed."

"If he's like a dog, then imagine the look on Bob's face when he sees him. Imagine him running towards him just to play or have a treat," he mused.

The girl laughed at that. "Might as well teach him some tricks while we're at it."

Right when she made that joke, something from above zoomed through the treetops. Hazel stopped and looked up to see what it was. The leaves were pretty dense in the forest, but not dense enough to block any light from the sun. The forest floor was littered with fallen leaves, soil, and branches while the trees were also decorated with a few vines. Also on the floor were a series of ferns and other plants native to the Cretaceous. It was as if they were in an African jungle from a storybook.

"Hazel, what is it?" Nigel stopped and looked up as well, only to find nothing.

"I don't know…I could have sworn I saw something go through the trees."

"Don't tell me you're starting to hallucinate now, are you?"

Hazel looked back and stared at him blankly. "Really?"

He shrugged his shoulders in a joking manner. "Just saying."

Just then, a low voice echoed from beyond where they were. Hazel listened in to it and found out that it sounded familiar. Whoever was talking was very close to them. She then broke into a run, dodging various plants, rocks, and logs in their way. Nigel kept close behind her, eager to find out what has gotten her so excited.

The answer came to him when the girl cut down a couple of the giant leaves in front of her. The leaves crashing on the forest floor were enough to make the creature in front of them turn around. To their surprise, it was a very familiar blue-green _Iguanodon_ that was standing before the base of what looked like a tropical hardwood tree with a number of vines.

Hazel let out a sigh of relief and sheathed her dagger. "Aladar! What are you doing here?"

"Hazel! Nigel! Just in time! I was just telling everyone that you're here!" he told them. He then stepped to the side to reveal a group of lemurs sitting on one of the tree roots.

There were three lemurs on a root that curved into the ground. In the middle was an elderly lemur, who had wrinkles on his darkened face. His fur had hints of gray to it, indicating his old age. There were also mats of brown fur on his arms, head and tail, and had blue eyes. On his left was a younger female lemur with the same coloration, except she did not have brown fur on her arms and she had yellow eyes. Finally, a much younger lemur that looked like the older female except with the elder one's coloring, sat at the right.

The lemurs' eyes widened in shock at who was running towards them. Hazel could not contain her happiness at the moment. It had been far too long since she had seen this family.

"Yar! Plio! Suri!" Hazel screamed with glee.

"Well look who's finally come back!" Yar announced.

She outstretched her arms and was about to hug them all at once when the youngest lemur jumped at her first. Suri let out a laugh before colliding with the human on her chest. In response, Hazel held on to her tightly and gave her a big hug.

"Hazel!" the little lemur exclaimed.

"Whoa! Someone's giddy today? Wait, you are Suri right? Because the Suri I know was smaller than you," the human joked as she continued to hug her.

The lemur nuzzled her face into her chest. "No it's me alright. I've just gotten bigger."

Hazel chuckled. "More like grown-up. You're getting too big to fit into my bag."

"Hazel I missed you…" she said tearfully.

The traveler put a hand on the lemur's head and stroked it gently. "And I missed you too."

Right when she said that, Suri pulled her head away from the softness of Hazel's hooded T-shirt. The young woman was not staring into a pair of angry yellow eyes. She had no idea if she should feel scared or amused. But for the moment, she felt both.

"DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE US AGAIN!" Suri screamed furiously and slammed her fists on her friend.

The hits were pretty hard, even on a human, which caused Hazel to shriek in slight pain. As a result of the hits, her face froze into a grimace. The two adult lemurs and Iguanodon chuckled at the sight.

"I thought you were gone forever!"

"Ow...Suri...that really hurt…" she groaned and released her grip on the lemur. "Don't worry...won't do it again…"

Suri nodded in satisfaction and then smiled at her again. "Good. Oh yeah! I held on to this for you!"

The lemur undid the rope that was on her wrist and then let the string fall straight. Hazel stared at the object in joy. It bore a huge similarity to the ring choker around her neck and was made of the same material. The human retrieved the item from the lemur and brought it up to her face to examine it more closely. When she did, Suri returned to her mother and grandfather on the tree root.

"My bracelet…" she grinned.

"Suri's been hanging on to that ever since you left," Yar explained offhandedly. "She never let it go."

Hazel quickly strapped the bracelet onto her left wrist and then knelt down to one knee in front of the lemurs. It had been too long since she had seen them, and being with them again had made her feel like she was home, even though her real home was 65 million years away.

A few ways from where she was, her mentor was enjoying the sight of the newest reunion. Like before, he was happy that his partner was reunited with her friends. But now, he wanted in on the action. Not only that, but he wanted to get a closer look at the primates, as they were now a scientific breakthrough to him.

Nigel was about to get their attention when the herd leader beat him to it. He had actually forgotten he was there as he was too engrossed in Hazel's reunion with the lemurs. Aladar let out a series of soft bellows at the group and then directed them to the man a few feet before them. Hazel turned around and had a look of slight embarrassment. As for the lemurs, they were curious as to who the newcomer was.

"Thank you Aladar for alerting them to my presence," he said, gesturing to the _Iguanodon_. He received some grunts and snorts in return.

"Hazel? Who's this?" Plio asked first.

"Guys, this is Nigel," she started. In her mind, she thought to herself if this would be the last time she would introduce him. She did not mind introducing Nigel to the others, but it was starting to get tiring. Still, she took joy in the fact that she was introducing her friends to one of her other friends from her world. "He's a friend from my time."

To the park creator, all he heard was a series of chatters and squeaks. He was even more amazed when he witnessed them wave at him.

"Nigel, meet three of the four lemurs that raised Aladar: Plio, Yar, and Suri," she introduced, gesturing them with her hand respectively.

"My word...these are the ones from the island?" he asked her.

Hazel simply nodded. However, the next few seconds made her think that saying that might have been a big mistake. The explorer charged at them and then knelt before the trio. He then started examining them all and making scientific comments, all while the lemurs were staring at him in confusion.

"Wow...and I thought I've seen everything. These lemurs look like they may be relatives of the modern day Verreax's Sifaka. Perhaps they're a distant ancestor of them? If so, then maybe that island they came from was probably the island of Madagascar?" he rambled on with his scientific theories.

Yar looked at Hazel in bewilderment. "Hazel? What is your friend doing?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders in guilt. "Don't mind him. He's...just being himself."

Then, Plio gasped and placed a hand on her head. All of them took notice of that and watched as she looked around the treeline.

"How could I forget? Everyone! Come on out! It's alright, they're friends!"

Suddenly, there was movement up in the roof of the trees. The others looked up and noticed that some of the leaves were falling. From the branches appeared even more lemurs. All of them were of different ages and had different colorations to them. Some of them were clustered into groups while others were alone. Hazel stood up and looked all around to see so many of them in one area. As for Nigel, he started to feel like a child on Christmas Day.

The three lemurs and the herd leader watched on as they observed the rest of the extended family.

"There's so many of them…" he breathed out.

"Where on earth did you find all these guys?" Hazel asked her friends as she kept turning around at all the lemurs. As she did, the other mammals started to climb down and inspect the new visitors.

"We didn't," Aladar answered. "They were here the whole time when we first got here."

"So they survived the Fireball too…" the girl concluded.

"So Hazel," Plio called out to her, causing the human to stop and look back at the matriarch. "What brings you here to the Nesting Grounds?"

It was at that moment that Hazel felt a pit in her stomach. Plio bringing up that kind of question made all the happiness she felt from the past few hours fade away. She may look normal on the outside, but deep down, she just wanted to cry. Shrugging off that urge, she went over to Nigel, who was inspecting a group of baby lemurs on a nearby tree.

"Wow, look at the time! Come on Nigel," she told him. "Let's go unload the jeep. We'd better set up camp before it gets dark."

"Hm?" the man turned and looked at her. When he did, he saw that there was a hint of urgency in her expression. He did not know why she was so urgent to get out of this forest, but he did not question it. "Oh right. Better set up camp for the night."

Hazel turned to the lemurs and Aladar. "Sorry guys. We're going to prepare our tents near the entrance to the cave. Gotta do so before it gets dark," she said with a fake laugh then bolted out of the forest.

Nigel rushed after her, leaving a very confused _Iguanodon_ and a clan of lemurs behind.

"What was that about?" Suri wondered.

Her mother, Yar, and even her adopted big brother did not answer, as they had no idea what was going through that girl's mind.

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That night…

Hazel quietly sat in front of the recently made campfire while watching the flames dance. Today had been a long day and she and Nigel were exhausted. All that flying, running, and catching up with her friends had tired her out. After doing the last introduction between Nigel and Zini, she felt like falling on her back. She was glad she was with her friends though.

It had been a few hours since the sun had set. She and Nigel had set up camp in front of the entrance to the cave at the hill that went down to the valley below. Both of them agreed that it was the perfect spot to set up camp, as it provided a perfect view of the valley and easy access to the cave where the jeep was. The tents they set up were right across from each other, yet were still positioned in front of the fire. Nigel's tent, which was nearest the cave, was a modified gray A-framed tent while Hazel's was the same type, only purple in color.

The sky was already pitch dark and the stars were out, though there wasn't any moon. Just about an hour ago, Aladar and the gang had joined them in their campfire circle to do some more catching up. All of them were a little cautious with the campfire, as the flames had reminded them of the fireball from before. But with Hazel's reassurance, they calmed. It was also a good thing they gathered some wood from the forest before it got dark, otherwise spending the night in the Late Cretaceous would be slightly uncomfortable without a little light.

It was also a good thing they ate dinner before they set up camp. Their food for the night were a couple of sandwiches, and salads for Nigel, they had packed earlier that day. Exploring the valley and meeting the inhabitants sure could leave someone with an empty stomach.

The children had asked them about what adventures they had gone on together, which prompted Hazel to tell of their adventure of finding the Therizinosaurs. She and Nigel recited the tale as if they had just experienced it yesterday; their encounters with the predators, survival in the ancient desert, and bypassing overprotective _Protoceratops_. They did not miss a beat in their tale. Talin and his friends kept asking for more tales from the humans, but were then urged by Neera that it was their bedtime. Now it was quiet, and the humans were alone in their campsite.

"Phew," Nigel exhaled as he sat down across from Hazel. "What a day…"

Nigel's comment had snapped her back to reality, as she had just noticed her mentor sit on the other side of the campfire. He had just left his tent after setting up his sleeping bag just to relax and warm himself in front of the flames.

"Did you get some good data?" Hazel inquired.

The park creator shrugged his shoulders and stared at her. "Yes and no. Aladar and Neera were good guides, but I'm starting to regret not having a communicator like yours. It was difficult trying to interpret what they were saying whenever I asked them questions."

Hazel crossed her arms. "Oh...I'm glad you brought that up. Because I wanted to talk to you about that."

"The communicator?" Nigel wondered. "What about it?"

The girl took a deep breath and then exhaled before speaking. "I know you said that no one should know about it. But why?"

The explorer looked away from her and down at the flames. "Well...You and I both know the answer. If anyone found out about it, people will start to get jealous and probably not trust me, or us. Not only that, but there's a chance that the secret about this communication, and of this park, will slip to the public if no one can keep a secret. Prehistoric Park is not a tourist destination or a hotspot for capitalism. It's a sanctuary."

"Right but…" she paused for a moment to think of what to say next. "It just doesn't seem fair. Just...me being the only one who has this ability. Wouldn't it be so much easier for everyone if we did not overlook the language barrier? Think about it, if the entire staff had a communicator like mine, then taking care of the residents would be so much easier."

Nigel touched his chin at that thought. "That's true…"

Hazel then lifted a hand up to gesture to him then put it back down. "And you...well you've seen how I can work with the inhabitants back at the park, like how I've worked with the Rex twins. And you've seen me talk to my friends here. Plus you just said you found it difficult to collect data when you were with Aladar and Neera. Don't you want to have that same privilege?"

"I suppose so...but what about the issue of keeping it and the park a secret?"

The girl sat straight up at the mention of that. Clearly she was prepared for a response to that for a while. In fact, she had been thinking about it ever since she returned from her journey months ago.

"I've been thinking about that. What if...there was some sort of alarm system hooked up to the communicators?" she suggested.

Nigel's eyes widened. "An alarm system? Like if someone were stealing it, then the alarm would go off. We'd all know about it via some sort of computer, and maybe...the communicator would shut off as a result? Maybe have the device work only within the borders of the park?"

Hazel grinned when he said that. "Great minds think alike. There could also be a Code of Silence, like no one is to breathe a word about the park or the ability to talk to the animals to anyone from the outside. If they break it, they'll get fired."

He thought for a moment about that. "Hm...Your idea sounds radical...but not impossible. I'll have to think it, but you do bring up some good points. I have to say though...your communicator took some time to make. Not to mention it took a lot out of my bank account. Yours took a few weeks to build. But making one for everybody?"

"I know, it sounds challenging. But you're not alone in this one. Two people working on a single job will accelerate the production process. Plus I can contribute some of my money into it too."

Nigel diverted his attention from the flames to back at his partner. "I'll have to think about that then. Now to another pressing matter...why did you pull me away from the lemurs back there?"

Hazel's enthusiasm seemingly disappeared when he said that. She slouched again and hugged her knees. "They...were asking as to why they were there. I didn't know how to tell them."

It took a moment for the explorer to decipher what she meant by that. When he figured it out, he knew that she was talking about the meteor strike that would come in less than 2 days.

"The meteor strike…" he realized. "You didn't want to tell them."

Hazel gravely nodded.

She let out a worried breath. "I should have convinced them to come with me months ago."

"Hazel, you have to tell them."

The girl shook her head, signaling her strong refusal. "No, I can't. I can't tell them."

"Hazel," he urged in a louder tone. "They'll find out sooner or later. You have to tell them now before the meteor breaks through the atmosphere, otherwise our goal will go up in flames."

"Nigel," she called to him in frustration. "I can't do that. Okay sure, my friends will trust me, trust us if I tell them. Granted they'll be pretty mad at us too. But what of the herd? They're not going to have that luxury. Plus, think about what will happen next when we take them to Prehistoric Park. Our world, our time, is not their home."

She then closed her eyes to hide the tears that would start to fall down. _"And if I don't tell them...they'll be mad anyway. I don't want to lose them, whether it be through the meteor or losing their trust in me."_

"Hazel," he calmly told her. "It isn't the place. It's who they're with that makes it home. Think of the other animals we rescued: we took them away from their time so they could live in peace, and look where they are now. They're thriving. Don't you want to see that with your friends here?"

A moment of silence fell over them. Yes, she wanted her friends to be happy, but how can they be happy when they're in a whole new world? Will they adjust? Will they still accept her? She did not know and she refused to find out. Not wanting to mull around in those thoughts, she stood straight up and went into her tent.

"Goodnight Nigel," she flatly said before zipping the cover of her portable living space.

After watching her leave, Nigel stared back into the flames of the campfire. He tried to convince her to do the right thing, but he could also feel her pain. If he was in her position, then he would also find it difficult to explain the end of the world to those he cared about. He could try to tell them himself, but he would only carry half the conversation as he would not understand them. They would also never believe him since he just arrived and is essentially a stranger to the Herd. His word would carry very little weight. The one to do this task must be Hazel.

"We're running out of time Hazel…" he said quietly.

Off in the distance, a ways from the campsite, a certain green Iguanodon had been watching the humans converse around the fire. Nero had overheard little of the conversation, but most of it he did not understand. He did pick up on some words such as "meteor", "new world", and "time". However, the burly dinosaur did not fully understand the topics and assumed that they useless information about their species. After what happened today, however, he had developed a grudge against the one called Hazel. There was something off about her, and he could not place it.

Not wanting to spend any more time eavesdropping, Nero marched away to get some well-deserved rest.

 _Tada! Chapter 6 is done! Man I'm on a roll! With the introductions out of the way, things are starting to get serious. Hope you liked this chapter and stay tuned for Chapter 7!_


	7. Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

_Hi guys, Darksage and Marc Ello-Re Yes here with another chapter for Dinosaur: A Prehistoric Park Adventure Part 2. This was a lot of fun to write and we hope that you enjoy it. ^.^_ _ **Disclaimer: We do not own Prehistoric Park or Disney's Dinosaur.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: The Courtship Ritual by James Newton Howard**_

The Nesting Grounds 65 million years ago….

The next morning, Hazel was up and early, ready to enjoy the Cretaceous period once more. She couldn't sleep a wink last night because of the looming threat of the meteor coming in less than a day or so. So Hazel had to psyche herself up to prepare to break the news to her friends. But she remembered that today was the day of the lemur's "Courtship ritual".

"No, I can't tell them today… after the ritual. Yes, I'll tell them after." Hazel spoke to herself, trying to ignore what her common sense was telling her so she could still preserve her relationships with her Prehistoric Friends.

She fixed up her green sleeping bag and brushed her hair to make herself look presentable. Right afterwards, she picked up her communicator from the left side of the tent and activated it once it was in her ear. She also ate a few granola bars just so that she could have a quick breakfast. Then she exited her tent, once again pushing the dire situation from her mind for the time being.

It was also when she left the camp that she stumbled upon an excited Suri. Apparently she wanted to greet her good morning before going off to meet her mom. She seemed pretty giddy about something today, which Hazel wanted to find out. After greeting each other, the young woman inquired her about her mood. Her immediate answer was the courtship ritual. The traveler told her that Zini had mentioned about it, but did not give any details. Naturally, Suri sated Hazel's curiosity with an explanation on the matter before leaving her for the forest.

A few minutes of wandering around the Nesting Grounds had found her by the lake's edge with a prepping Nigel. He was washing his face with the water so that he could wake himself up. His reaction of finding her behind him had almost caused him to fall in. The sight nearly made Hazel giggle.

After briefly apologizing, the two got up and walked around the perimeter while admiring the multitude of animals going about their daily business.

"Today is the lemur courtship ritual. So things around here are going to get a little busy. At least that's what Suri told me."

Nigel's eyes widened in surprise. "Courtship ritual? Now the lemurs practice some sort of religion?"

Hazel was explaining the significance of today to her mentor. It gave her something else to focus on than the disaster, so it was a perfect distraction to discuss the ins and outs of the lemur's ritual.

Hazel paused and corrected Nigel's assumption.

"Um… not really. Suri said it's an annual thing. This day is when first time bachelors and bachelorettes come together and find their first 'True Love'. Something along those lines."

She was trying to put it into terms that Nigel understood. Luckily, Nigel seemed to understand what the young woman was describing. He shook his head in amazement at the lemur's tradition.

"First lemurs pop up in the Cretaceous period, then they have rituals...what kind of world did we come into?"

Both time travelers shared a laugh.

The once again broke off again, with Nigel exploring the valley's inhabitants again. This left Hazel alone to do as she wished. The sun of the Nesting Grounds shined through the clear blue sky, signifying another seemingly perfect day.

" _If only that were the case.._." Hazel whispered to herself, remembering the fate that was set in stone for the Cretaceous.

Her depressing thoughts were broken by laughter coming by the lake's beach. Hazel's attention was now focused on the lemur females lounging by the waterside. They were almost like modern day stereotypical beach babes, sunning themselves, giggling, and splashing in the water.

" _And the questions just keep piling up…"_ Hazel thought while she was witnessing the lemur girls acting eerily similar to modern man. Maybe it was genetics?

Nigel was right. What kind of world did they come into? She then noticed nearby that a little lemur was hiding behind a rock. Unlike the other lemurs she had seen, this one had pure white fur, save for the black patch on the tip of her tail. Another striking feature was her grey eyes. She was trying to emulate some of the confident strides of the beach goers and mouthing what they were saying with the hand gestures they were making. Taking interest, she slowly sneaked over to the shy primate.

"That's some funky strut you're doing there." Hazel whispered now that she was right next to the young lemur. The lemur girl practically jumped out of her skin when she realized that she was no longer alone.

"AHH—oh! H-Hello, I didn't see you there." The white lemur's demure voice answered, while she tried to look as casual as possible.

"You're that human from yesterday. Hazel, right?"

"Yup, that's me. Hazel the time traveling explorer, at your service!" Hazel smiled, greeting the curious primate.

"I'm Aya. Pleased to meet you!" the now identified Aya said.

"So Aya, any reason why you're trying to act like those prehistoric 'Kardashians'?" Hazel nodded toward the giggling beach lemurs. Just watching them perform those antics made her cringe a little. She was never a fan of the Kardashians after all.

Aya retreated into herself as she debated whether to tell the traveling stranger or not.

"Kardashians?" she blurted in curiosity. "What are those?"

The human shook her head and sighed. "Nothing. But still, what's up?"

' _Well, I guess it won't hurt to tell her. I'm already out of time. Maybe she can help me with the ritual today.'_ Aya decided to give Hazel the truth of her actions.

"I'm observing the other females. They are just so confident. I-I wanted to practice what they do so I can impress Z-Z-Zini t-tonight."

Hazel was surprised that Aya was genuinely trying to get her friend's affection. From what she saw with the others, they were not trying to be WITH Zini, just his status as "the new bachelor" and possibly because he had close relations with the leader of the herd. Hazel picked up the young lemur walking away from the beach side.

"Oh Aya, I'm gonna help you out and get you your man. All you have to do is follow Hazel's '6 easy steps to get a guy,'" she said, trying to copy those cheesy dating articles in her magazines back home.

"W-W-What?" Aya stammered out.

"Hush now grasshopper. We have work to do."

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Meanwhile, in the forest…

Aladar had been roaming around the valley for the last couple of hours or so. As the leader, it was his job to make sure that everyone in the herd and his extended family were happy and that problems were resolved. As a result, he would usually walk around to see if there was anything that needed tending to, whether it was a member that would go to him for help or if something needed his attention.

He had already checked the main part of the valley and was now in the forest to check on the lemurs. So far, nothing was out of the ordinary, save for the bustling activity in the trees due to the oncoming courtship ritual tonight.

The blue-green _Iguanodon_ shook his head in amusement at the memories from his past. He knew of this time, as he was raised by lemurs for most of his life. For years, he had witnessed numerous lemurs gather at the great tree on the island he grew up on and perform their ritual. When Neera and his children had asked about that, Aladar was happy to tell them. All of them were intrigued by his explanation and could not wait to watch the event at sundown.

It was also during his reminisces that he was reminded of one of his best friends and adopted uncle. After finding the Nesting Grounds, Zini had found a number of female lemurs that were interested in him. Just seeing the lemur with those girls made him and everybody think that he was finally happy. In fact, when he met up with Plio earlier, she had asked the _Iguanodon_ to go and check up on him, just in case.

Eventually, Aladar had found him sitting on a tree branch overlooking the main part of the valley. The dinosaur could not believe that his buddy was actually near the area where he first entered the forest, right in front of the valley lake.

"Hey Zini! Enjoying the view?" he called up to him.

The yellow-furred lemur jumped at that and looked behind him. At first, he couldn't see anyone, until he found his nephew down on the ground looking at him curiously.

"Oh hey. Yeah, the view's nice," he said nonchalantly.

"You sure you're enjoying it? Because you looked upset there for a second."

Zini shook his head and stared at him in surprise. "What!? No! I'm totally fine!"

Aladar eyed him blankly at that statement. "Come on Zini. I've known you for a long time. I can tell when something's bothering you."

The lemur shot glares at him in a futile attempt at defending face, but then surrendered as it was no use. He wasn't feeling right on the inside. In fact, he did not even tell anyone about it as he was afraid they would all laugh at him, save for Hazel. Zini had even planned on talking to her about it, as he would get some insight on how a girl thought, but maybe his nephew could give him some helpful advice too.

Zini hopped down from the branches in a series of turns and acrobatics until he was on the branch closest to his friend. It was then that they were at the same eye level.

"Alright fine, you caught me. I'm…not really looking forward to tonight."

Aladar lifted an eye ridge and chuckled a little. "Wait what? I thought you were happy with being with all those girls."

The mammal scratched the back of his neck with his left hand. "Yeah…see…the spark in that part of my personality is starting to fade out. Sure they're great, but I found myself…still empty on the inside even after all this time."

"Whoa whoa hold up!" the larger ornithopod interjected. "Are you saying that you want to settle down?"

"Uh…" Zini froze at that. He never really liked that phrase, but it was the best one that described his feelings as of now. He let out a sigh and nodded.

Aladar smiled at that. "Well what do you know? You've actually gone back to square one! Now you're wanting to find the One in your life."

The lemur laughed sheepishly. "Guilty. I…actually wanted to ask you about that…my techniques way back then didn't work. And you along with the rest of the family know that I've been trying to attract girls for a long time. So…you and Neera…how did you do it after I helped break the ice?"

Aladar remembered that day. Back when Neera viewed him as a "Jerkasaurus" due to Zini's "love monkey" call. She viewed him as an idiot from that day and had no interest in him. But it was not until they reached the lake that he turned the tables in his favor. It was actually thanks to his uncle that he and Neera were what they are now.

"Well…it's all about charm, respect, being there for them, and just being yourself," he explained.

Zini sputtered at that. "Are you kidding me? I've got all of those! But the girls never liked me for that."

It was at that mention that Aladar wondered about the female lemurs that always hung out with him. Weren't they there because of his romantic antics? How could Zini be upset about this matter when he has a horde of girls in his disposal?

"But what about the girls that are with you?"

The lemur shook his head. "I've been a little suspicious about those girls. After being with them for a while, I've noticed that they only want to be with me because I've got ties with you. So they're only with me for the popularity."

Aladar did not need his uncle to explain any more. He already understood what he was saying from that point. They were only around him for the status, not for who he was. And it was that realization that made him feel sorry for the little guy.

"Alright, tell you what, I'll help you out."

Zini looked at him in excitement and grinned. "You will!?"

"Yup, but there are a few things you need to do if you want to get the right girl," he further told him.

"The first thing you need to do is-"

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"To be yourself," Hazel told Aya.

They were walking alongside the very edge of the valley, where a wall of trees blocked their way. From her flight with Flia yesterday, Hazel saw that the edge of the valley had a forest wall that divided this area for miles from the wastelands further out. The herd members did not really get into this area much as it was slightly mountainous, meaning that it would be slightly difficult to traverse just to get to some food. Plus, they preferred to be around the other members of the herd in the main part of the valley.

Now occasionally, they would encounter a few lemurs along the way. No doubt they too were preparing for tonight's ritual. Some of them were practicing some acrobatics in the trees. Others were practicing some catchphrases, a few of them she found to be funny. Then there were some who were searching for peculiar red flowers in the trees. Just seeing them do all of these made her even more curious.

This area was not that far from a few members of the herd, but it was perfect to the duo as it served as a private place to walk around for a conversation like this.

"But why?" the female lemur inquired. "I thought Zini would like that kind of personality."

"Yeah, see, that's another bit you need to fix. You shouldn't try to be something that you're not. It's a bad reflection on yourself."

"Besides, you're great just the way you are," she continued.

Aya stopped hopping next to her and stared at the human. Hazel noticed that and looked back at the flabbergasted lemur.

"But I'm not that social…and I can't talk very well…"

One of Hazel's eyebrows went up at that. "Really, then how come you got to strike a conversation with me?"

The lemur fell silent. The only reason why she managed to strike up a conversation with this human was because she was not some towering creature like the herd in the valley or another lemur like herself. Sure she could have tried talking to Plio, but she along with the other members of the family were preparing for tonight's ritual.

"So what do I have to do?"

Hazel went up to her and knelt down on one knee. She did so not only to get some rest from the walk, but also to be a little closer to her.

"Like I said, be yourself. Zini likes cute girls, and you're just that. He also likes girls with charm and those that are outgoing."

"Outgoing?" she looked at her nervously. "But…I don't know how."

"Well that brings me to my next tip," Hazel added. "Be confident. Not only is it a good way to get yourself out there and face challenges head on, but guys also find it attractive. Just believe in yourself."

Aya stared at her as if she were speaking in another language. This girl was telling to do things that she had never done before. She herself was a shy, timid, and insecure lemur who had no confidence in herself. But if this human is telling her things that are not impossible, then what right does she have to doubt her. Perhaps there is more to her and this Hazel than meets the eye.

"Okay…you listed two things. What is the third?"

Hazel cleared her throat. "Alright. The third thing is-"

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"Be respectful," Aladar said. "Suave sayings and comments can attract a girl, but make sure you respect them. Otherwise your goal's going to go downhill."

Zini eyed him blankly and put his hands on his hips by their backs. "Oh come on! I'm respectful! I am the Professor of Love, and as such, being respectful is part of the code."

The dinosaur rolled his eyes. He has heard his childhood friend go on and on about being the "Professor of Love" for so long that it's now been ingrained into his brain.

"Right but don't forget that word. You don't respect them, they won't respect you. It's as simple as that."

The lemur waved his right hand as a way to show that he understood. "Right right. What's next? I have to fix my fur or something?"

Aladar chuckled. "Well, you can do that. But I was going to say 'it's all about her, not you.' You say and do things that only you find interesting would make the girl lose interest. Appeal to her better nature. But you should already know that."

"Yeah yeah, Yar made us repeat that a million times way back when," Zini snuffed.

"Good, you keep that in mind. Four, think before you act," he added. "Like the third one, you should already know that. You screw up on a saying, then the girl won't like that."

The lemur groaned and looked up at the treetops in desperation then back at his adopted nephew. "Ugh…I know that. I've been through multiple rejections just for me to learn that."

"And it's common sense," Aladar said. "Next up is-"

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"Body language," the human told her. They had been walking for a while and had traversed towards the middle of the valley, which was quite a ways from the main part. However, there were still numerous dinosaurs around so they had to take care in not colliding with them.

"Amongst my species, body language is what helps in a date. Walk the walk, stand up straight, make eye contact, hold hands, and all that. But your case is different. I'm not sure how lemurs handle the body language bit, but it probably goes along the lines of making yourself presentable and doing actions that make you a proper woman…er…girl lemur."

Aya kept hopping alongside the human as she spoke. For a creature that walks on both of her legs, she is a challenge to keep up with. This was because she was exhausted from hopping throughout the expanse of the valley. The white primate had been listening the whole time, but would then request that they stop for a bit just to catch her breath. When she breathed out the word "stop", the human would do so and allow the ancient monkey to rest up.

Sometimes various dinosaurs would stop and stare at the strange duo, but would then go back to their daily business. Even the ones that were passing by would give them a double take before proceeding onward. Thankfully, the girls did not mind that.

Hazel stared at the lemur as she bent down to take in deep breaths. Although she felt sorry for walking all this way, she was also amused by the sight of her doing that.

"The…girls…would just make sure our appearances were good and staying close to the boys would show that we are interested…at least during the ritual," she breathed out then stared up at the human.

"Okay. Then you do that. Now I've told you all that you needed to know, but there is one thing that ties it all together," Hazel said as if she were in the peaking moment in a lecture.

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Both human and _Iguanodon_ at the same time…

"Be your best self," they trumpeted with confidence towards the lemurs they were trying to help.

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Zini stared at his nephew in silence. Although most of those tips he gave him were common sense and were prior information he heard before, he had never heard about the other ones before. Sure he was respectful towards the opposite sex, always talked to them and not about himself, and all that, but he had no clue as to how he got those other tips. Maybe Neera had told him all of that? Zini had no clue.

"Hope I helped there," Aladar said with uncertainty.

The lemur shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah you did. Looks like I've got some brushing up to do. So if I follow all of those, I'll be sure to get my girl?"

The dinosaur nodded in strong agreement. "Oh yeah. Big time. Follow what I say and you can't go wrong."

Zini thought about that for a moment then smiled at him. "Alright. I'll do it!"

"Great!" Aladar laughed when he saw his uncle all pumped up. He was also relieved that his advice had helped. "Now go get yourself ready. Courtship's at sundown, so you've got some time before then."

The ancient primate scoffed at that and hopped off from the branch. "No need to tell me twice."

The _Iguanodon_ watched his uncle scurry off into the underbrush off to his right. Once he was gone, Aladar proceeded to exit the forest. The ornithopod felt satisfied that he had helped him out, though deep down, he hoped that what he told him would be enough.

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Back in Prehistoric Park…

While Hazel and Aladar were giving their new wards their pep talks, the park's residents were also bitten by the "Love-Bug". The _Ornithomimus_ laying their next clutch of eggs, with Prehistoric Park employees monitoring the process to make sure no complications occur. The Therizinosaurs were scratching up trees to make their enormous talons sharp and presentable for prospective mates. As for the _Plateosaurus,_ the males sung out ancient serenades to impress the females. One pair of _Plateosaurus_ were in the process of courtship, which would eventually lead to the … "propagation" of their species.

Many of the residents were trying their hand at love, all having success except one.

Theo was in a pickle as he and his new companion Eleanor, or Ellie, were trying to court each other. Or more accurately, Theo was using cheap one-liners while chasing Ellie all over the enclosure trying to win her affection.

"Hey baby, wait up! Do you have a map? Cause I'm getting lost in your eyes!" Theo called out to the running _Triceratops_ female.

"Go away Theo! I am not in the mood!"

Ellie was running away to try to get some alone time. She was still coming to grips with being in the future and was having a hard time adjusting. And the enamored male was NOT making things easier for the poor girl.

"Come on give me a chance! If I can rearrange the alphabet, I'd put 'U' and 'I' together. ~"

"Fortunately, 'U' and 'I' are nowhere near each other!" Ellie quickly deflected Theo's latest pickup line.

While this was happening, Suzanne and Bob were documenting the process of the Triceratops's "mating ritual", with their cameraman capturing the two keepers and the act simultaneously. Nigel had hired the cameraman to document and record all of their prehistoric findings to further enhance their field research. Nigel and his crew of Park Keepers make comments and speculate to the camera, taking verbal notes of their prehistoric "wards" actions and habits.

"Look at that Bob. Theo and Ellie are engaged in a type of 'courtship chase'. It's probably like how modern day rhinos court their potential mates."

"I don't know, Ellie looks like she wants to get rid of the bloke." Bob eyed the two animals, noting the irritated grunts and barks coming from the female to ward off the male. Little did he know that he pretty much hit the nail on the head in his observation on Theo's "courting".

Suzanne, thinking that Bob was joking, just laughed.

"I'm sure this is a normal process," she said, still watching the ceratopsians' game of "cat and mouse". Bob still looked concerned for Theo's wellbeing. He developed a soft spot for the first resident of the park (excluding the _Orinthumimus_ chicks he "mothered").

"Theo will be fine," Suzanne waved off his concern, "If mating rituals of _Triceratops_ are like modern rhinos, then Ellie will either submit, then be Theo's mate, or Theo will stop his pursuit if Ellie doesn't accep—!"

Suzanne was cut off by a primal bellow. Apparently, Ellie was fed up with Theo's shows of affections and did what her mother taught her to tell undeserving suitors that she was "not interested". She turned on a dime to meet Theo's surprised face and proceeded to charge at him. Theo was caught off guard and barely had time to brace himself against his "Angel's" show of power.

Bob, Suzanne, and the camera-guy witnessed Ellie slam her horns against Theo's. With them promptly locked together, the female ceratopsian began to push back and drive her male counterpart backwards. Then Ellie, as she decided she made enough momentum, shifted her head to the side. Theo's head also shifted in that direction so much that it overturned him, causing him to greet the unforgiving ground in pain. Ellie roared out her displeasure at him while she stomped off to get some water. The male was flailing on his back after the being capsized and rejected. Theo groaned out, one part embarrassment the other part pain.

"Maybe the 'You're cold, use me as a blanket' line was a bit much. Ow…" the thrashed _Triceratops_ wheezed out, while trying to right himself back on his feet.

The senior keepers were flabbergasted at what they saw. Theo, a nearly 6-ton budding adolescent male _Triceratops_ , was easily overturned and thrown to the side by the petite in comparison Ellie, who was only 4-tons. Bob and Suzanne's silence was broken when their cameraman burst out laughing at the predicament of the dinosaur.

"'Like modern rhinos,'" the cameraman snickered.

"Was that supposed to happen?" he tried to regain his breath, while failing to reign in his amusement after Suzanne jinxed herself.

"'Cause Theo looks like my buddy getting rejected by girls at the bar!"

He broke out in laughter again. Suzanne had the decency to blush at her incorrect assumption of _Triceratops_ interactions. Bob just shook his head while walking off to the vehicle depot.

"I'll get the tractor to tow him back to his feet."

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Nesting Grounds 65 million years ago…high noon

"So…," Nigel said after he bit into his red delicious apple.

The time travelers had spent the last hour or so by the lake as they ate their lunch. It was not much, as Nigel had a handful of fruits while Hazel had a tuna sandwich and an orange. Next to them were their traveling bags, which they used to store their trash and some other supplies in case they were needed today.

"You spent all morning helping a young female lemur by giving her some dating advice?"

The girl nodded flatly. "Pretty much yeah."

"How did you know what to tell her?" he asked curiously.

"Two things Nigel," she said and took a mouthful of her tuna sandwich before replying. "Experience and movies."

Nigel eyed her at that, especially at the word "experience". He now wondered whether she had gone through some relationship issues before she came to Prehistoric Park or had helped someone with those kind of issues. Either that, or it could be both.

"What do you mean experience?"

Hazel was about to take a bite when he said that. She turned slowly to him and let out a sigh. "I've had some bad luck in the past. Guys who liked me for the wrong reasons. Turned them all down when I found out. Don't worry, nothing bad happened to me."

The man let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that she had gotten herself into some…inappropriate situations. Now that he heard that, he was grateful that she was raised with a right mind and knew right from wrong.

"Well I'm not an expert in relationships, but whatever you went through, those guys were wrong to do so," he reassured her.

The girl stared at him as if he thought she was upset about it. In truth, she was not at all. If she was, she would be crying at the moment. "Don't worry, I'm over all that. But thanks."

"There you are!" a voice echoed from behind them.

Both humans turned around to see a familiar elderly _Styracosaurus_ and an _Iguanodon_ with blue-green scales walk up towards them. Quickly, they stored all of their food away into their backpacks before walking up to meet them.

"Hi Aladar. Hi Eema. What's up?" Hazel asked.

"Not much," Aladar replied. "Though I have no idea what's going on. Apparently it involves all of us."

"Oh it's something alright," the old woman grizzled out. "Definitely involves our leader here, but I'm sure you two will be enlightened by it too."

The younger dinosaur looked at the elder on his left. "Wait how does it involve me?"

"Well you just come along and you'll find out," she nonchalantly remarked and walked on ahead slowly passed them.

Nigel turned to Hazel to cue her on a translation. Naturally, she was prepared for it. "She says she wants us to follow her."

Both humans and _Iguanodon_ watched her go before catching up to her.

Nearly twenty minutes had passed since Eema had said that. The quartet had already walked passed numerous herd members and walked along the eastern portion of the valley, northern if you were at the cave entrance. They had even walked alongside the forest edge, even though they were not going in it. Finally, they had gotten to a particular part of the valley where a grassy pathway led up the mountain.

The elder began to traverse it slowly and carefully. Thankfully, the hill was not so bad, so all of them could easily go up. Next to Eema was Aladar, who was making sure she did not lose her footing. Nigel and Hazel were directly behind her.

"Phew…" Eema gasped as she kept walking. "Getting here always takes a climb."

"So what's the big mystery?" the ornithischian asked her.

"Yeah Eema," Hazel added. "Why bring us all the way out here? And why not bring the others?"

"I uh…wanted to meet an old friend of mine," she replied while not looking back at them. "Plus they were elsewhere. Couldn't find them."

As they continued to walk up, the Prehistoric Park creator took the time to observe their surroundings. All around them were the same type of trees found in the forest and a whole lot of grass everywhere. There were even some rock formations on some ends of the pathway, or at least just a few piles of moss covered rocks. He could not place it, but there was something familiar about the area.

"Hazel," he whispered to her. Calling her had brought her to his attention. "Is it just me, or does this area seem a little familiar to you?"

She looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Nigel continued to stare at her. "I don't know. Call it a hunch, but it feels like we've been here before."

When he said that, she began to think about what else about this area she was not considering. This was an area that had not been visited for quite some time due to the lack of footprints/matted grass. Not a lot of animals had come here, which would explain why the vegetation looked untouched. Then there was the location; wherever they were going overlooked nearly the entire valley, which would explain the tiring climb.

As she pondered about that, the quartet had reached the top and began making their way through a hidden pathway that was covered by what seemed to be a relative of a willow tree. The drooping branches looked like they could be like a curtain, except the leaves were larger. When they parted the leaves, they were making their way through a dimmer path that was nearly covered by the trees above them. A few rays of sunlight shimmered through the gaps, providing light for the way. Ahead of them was the rest of the path, but it turned to the right.

Hazel's eyes widened when she thought of this area. They were at the northeastern part of the Nesting Grounds. If this pathway led up to a certain part of the valley wall which overlooked the entire valley, and this area was Prehistoric Park in the ancient past, then that would mean…

The girl wasted no time in thinking about that and sprinted on ahead. All of them were surprised at this sudden action from Hazel, even the dinosaurs. As for Nigel, when he saw her do that, he realized that there was a reason for it. The area they were in, the pathway they went up, now it was starting to piece together.

Hazel turned the corner and rushed up to the end of the forest pathway. Up ahead was another curtain of leaves, this time there was less of it. When she reached it, she quickly parted the curtain and took in the sight. What she saw took her breath away.

It was a hidden grove, complete with a small pond with lilypads on the left and an overview of the whole valley off to the right. Hazel strode forward slowly while making sure she did not fall over from the shock. Although she was enchanted by the hidden oasis, she was completely fixated on what stood vigil before her.

Nigel was right. They had been here before, 65 million years in the future. Back in their time. There, imbedded in the rock like a permanent testimony against time, was a complete fossil of an _Iguanodon_. Just looking at it caused Hazel to relax and breathe out a sigh of relief. Her fears of the remains being one of her friends had finally been settled.

"He was here long before us…we call him Old Gotoma," Eema said as she walked by the stunned human. The girl with black hair did not need to look back to see that her friends had arrived.

As for Nigel, he was just as surprised as his student. His theory on this area was confirmed right when he noticed that skeleton. How it had gotten there or even how it survived until the present day uncovered like that was a complete mystery to him. One that he would like to delve into once this was all over.

"The skeleton back at the park…" he muttered as he slowly strode forward.

Aladar, who was admiring the grove and the skeleton before him, walked up to the old woman as she examined the remains. Like her, he was entranced by it and wondered on how it got there.

"Legend says he was the first one who brought us here...long long ago. The herd comes and the herd goes but Old Gotoma is always here. Some say that when he found this valley, he had it in his heart to share it with everybody," she explained then turned to the cliff that overlooked the valley.

After a few moments of looking at the remains, the leader turned to the elder at the cliff and followed her there. He stood on her left and looked at the valley before him, where his herd and his family lived. Below, numerous dinosaurs were thriving in their home. The crystal lake sparkled under the sun and the white clouds slowly breezed by in the sky.

"What's Eema saying?" Nigel whispered to Hazel on her left. The girl walked up to the fossil and placed a hand on one of his hooves.

"This is Old Gotoma. According to Eema, legend has it that this is the dinosaur that discovered the Nesting Grounds. She also said that when he found this valley, he shared it with everyone," she explained then turned to the _Styracosaurus_.

"Did I get that right?"

"Sure did hun," she glanced back and gave her a wink before looking back at the valley.

"Somewhere in time, the herd started losing the spirit of the Nesting Grounds. I would have lost it too if it weren't for any of you. Folks may come from different places, but all are welcome here."

Eema then looked at the herd leader next to her. "And now…you're carrying the flame."

"Aladar! Aladar I need your help!" a voice cried out from behind the semi-covered forest pathway.

Everyone turned their attention to it and found a young _Stygimoloch_ stagger passed the leafy curtain. How he had gotten here so quickly had baffled all of them, as this was supposed to be a secret area. Perhaps he was following close behind? He was breathing heavily as it appeared he had been running for quite a bit. When he found Aladar, he rushed up to him and jumped in urgency.

"Please…my friend…he was doing some practice charges and got his head stuck in a tree!"

"Uh oh," he uttered then chuckled a little. "That doesn't sound good. Okay I'll help. Lead the way."

With that said, the little pachycephalosaur, which was almost the size of Hazel, scurried off into the forest pathway, with Aladar close behind. Within a matter of seconds, the duo had disappeared.

"Well, I should follow them. In case any of them need my help," Eema excused herself and lumbered towards the curtain, leaving the two humans behind.

After watching her go, Hazel returned her gaze out towards the valley. Seeing the remains of Old Gotoma had calmed her immensely. Her fear now sated, she now thought that this mission would be a success. For now, anything was possible.

Nigel stood next to her and took in the view as well. "How are you feeling?"

The girl replied without looking at him. "Better I guess. I'm just glad to know that there's still a chance."

The man folded his arms. "You know, if Eema says that this is the dinosaur that founded this valley, then in a way, he also founded Prehistoric Park too."

A small smile creased on the girl's face. "I'm sure that Old Gotoma will be proud knowing that this valley is still being shared. Eema's right...no matter the species, all are welcome here."

The duo stood on the oasis outcrop for a few more minutes before they decided to head back down. It was already the middle of the afternoon by the time they returned to the base. When they did, they decided to head back to camp to have an early dinner. That climb had tired them out and even made them hungry. They planned on resting for a bit before watching the long-awaited courtship ritual of the lemurs.

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At sundown…by the great tree near the lake

It had been a long day, but it was finally time for the courtship ritual. Aladar had already told the entire friend circle, including the humans, that the event would take place at the great tree that was near the lake. When Hazel first arrived in the Nesting Grounds last year, she did not really pay much attention to it, as the entirety of the area had already dazzled her. But she did remember that this was the very tree that Suri scaled when they first broke through the cave to get here. It did seem fitting for this event, as it was large enough and contained enough vines for the lemurs to use.

Everyone was there for the event; Neera, Flia, Eema, Baylene, Url, Plio, Yar, and even Suri. As for the arrangement, they sat wherever they wanted. The elders and Neera mostly sat off to the left while the humans and Flia were off to the right. Other than that, they were pretty much close together. The children wanted to attend the event at first, but were then repulsed as they were told that it involved a lot of...smooching. They knew it was something adult related so they did not want to see what it looked like. As a result, they decided to go to bed early. The only one that remained was Suri, who was more experienced with this kind of matter.

The female lemurs that were going to be participating in the ritual sat at the base of the tree on various roots. All of them were shifting in their positions as they were anxious about the event. They even held those peculiar red flowers that Hazel noticed a while back during her walk with Aya. Speaking of Aya, she was sitting at the very edge of the group on the right, nervously twirling the flower in her hands. It was apparent that her face was full of anxiety and looked like she was about to keel over.

Hazel put two fingers on the edges of her mouth and blew to create a high-pitched, yet not as loud whistle. Nigel and Flia were even attracted to it and were looking at the human, who was gesturing to the pure white lemur. Aya noticed this and stared at the human, only to see that she was pointing at her own smiling face. The lemur understood with a nod. Then, she copied her teacher and made a small smile.

"Hazel, what was that?" the herd's sky scout wondered.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "Just...giving some support. Nothing more."

"So what are we supposed to expect from this courtship?" Hazel wondered.

"I don't know," Flia immediately replied. "Aladar didn't tell us much. Except it's girl lemurs and boy lemurs having some fun."

"Well I bet there's going to be a lot of making out…" the girl chuckled. "And hopefully we don't see any one of them 'making love'."

The _Pteranodon_ tensed up at that and looked at her in confusion. As for Nigel, he did so as well and gave her an "are you kidding me?" gesture.

"Making love?" Flia repeated that phrase. "What's that mean?"

Hazel let out a sigh. "Girl and guy getting it on."

Right when she said that, the pterosaur shuddered and closed her eyes. "Okay you really didn't have to say that."

"You asked."

"Thank you Hazel," Nigel said sarcastically. "For putting that image into our minds. Now onto another point. Has anyone seen Aladar?"

Neither one of them knew the answer to that. The lemurs turned to their human comrades and were about to tell them when Neera had beaten them to it. When she spoke, all of them directed their attention to her.

"I think I saw him head into the forest earlier. I don't know what he's doing, but I think we're about to find out soon enough," she said slyly, as if she knew what was going to happen.

Hazel let out a scoff. "Neera, judging from how you said that, you know what he's up to. Come on, spill it."

The female _Iguanodon_ smiled and shook her head. "Nope. My lips are sealed."

"Neera!" the time traveler whined, now more than ever wanting to know what Neera's mate was doing.

Just then, Hazel felt a poke on her leg. She looked down and saw an amused Suri staring at her. The young Asian woman cocked her head on confusion at the little mammal's expression on her face.

"Suri?"

"You don't have to ask Neera for an answer. Because it's coming right towards us," she then pointed off at the forest.

When she did, a trumpeting bellow echoed. All of them diverted their attention to the forest line only to see Aladar running towards them. The _Iguanodon_ bellowed again, this time in a higher pitch. He seemed pretty excited about something, most likely because it was the courtship ritual. Except for the lemurs and Neera, neither of them had no idea what he was doing in the forest. That answer came to them when he went passed the group.

Hazel's mouth dropped like a rock. She gawked at the numerous male lemurs that were on her friend's back. Nearly all of them were a dark brown or black in color. The only one that stood out among them was Zini, who was riding at the very front of the group on Aladar's neck.

"Hey girls! Look who just pulled into town!" Aladar announced by turning his side towards them to show the males on his back.

"Hey ladies!" a male in that group called out.

"Your buffet table of love," the dinosaur said like a waiter serving a guest some food.

As a result, the girls on the tree giggled and even blushed at that comment. As for the audience, a number of them shook their heads in amusement or just did not understand it at all. For Hazel, she was mildly repulsed by it.

"Buffet table of love? Okay I have to admit, that was a little cheesy…" she groaned yet was amused by it.

"And that's what he said the last time," Plio told her offhandedly.

Back to the courting lemurs, the males were already calling out to the potential mates with chatters and romantic phrases. Even Zini was doing his best to get himself out there. Especially with a series of jumps and flips on his nephew's back.

"Zini be mine!" one of the girls on the tree called out to him.

Another one of the girls shoved that random female away, making her fall on her face on the root. "Don't listen to her! She's not as hot as me! Take me!"

"No me!" Another one on the left went.

"Take me!" said a fourth.

While a number of the females were not so much into Zini, nearly half of the group of girls were focused on the acrobatic lemur. Even some of the males were overshadowed by his awkward performance and were getting annoyed by it.

For Aya, the more Zini showed off, the more she blushed. Pretty soon, her face was an even lighter shade of red, figuratively speaking. The white lemur wanted to hide her face from seeing him and from allowing anyone else to see her reaction.

"Hey free samples!" the brother of the matriarch announced and twirled in the air. "Get me while I'm hot!"

As a result for his attempted stunt, he nearly fell off. Thankfully, he caught on to Aladar's tail and got himself back up. The dinosaur made a turn and then stopped under a group of vines. All of the males on his back jumped up and climbed, relieving the slight amount of weight on his back.

When they were all off, he proceeded to make his way to his friends. He stood over next to Neera, who shared a touching moment by gently nuzzling each other.

Just then, Suri hopped forward and began making some vocalizations. When she did, the males that were now hanging at the vines began making vocalizations of their own. With the young female making her sounds, the rest of her family joined in, including Aladar. His initiative to join in the calls prompted the other dinosaurs and pterosaur to follow. Hazel and Nigel covered their ears for a moment and shared a laugh at the moment.

Meanwhile, Zini was performing some acrobatic tricks and flips on his vine. The girls were pretty impressed by it, including Aya. However, during his performance, he accidentally lost some grip on his vine and started to fall to the ground below.

The audience was horrified at it and became very worried. Hazel took the initiative and ran up to the falling lemur. Thankfully, she caught him in her arms, relieving everyone.

The courtship still went on full swing. The females giggled at all of the males' antics and Zini's little screw-up that they decided to join in. They jumped from the roots, with the flowers in their mouths by the stem, and climbed up to the vines to meet the males.

Hazel let out a laugh after watching them go and lowered Zini a little to prepare to launch him. "Come on Zini! You're missing out on all the fun!"

"Hey I invented that word!" he hollered but was then hurled upwards by the human. The lemur successfully caught onto one of the vines and began swinging around doing his tricks.

The girl let out a breath and was about to return to her post, but was entranced by the sight of the lemur ritual. All of them were jumping from vine to vine, creating vocalizations, and doing acrobatic tricks. The vines they swung on would twirl around with the other vines as the lemurs of opposite genders investigated each other.

Off to the western portion of the tree, Hazel noticed Zini doing some somersaults and swinging on vines a considerable distance from a group of at least ten female lemurs. She was curious at first, as she thought he was just trying to impress them all. That was what she thought until she noticed two lemurs swinging towards him from opposite sides to meet him head on. The yellow-furred primate jumped to another vine and avoided the collision, causing the girls to groan in pain and rub their heads.

"Alright girls! Check this out!" he hollered then did a cartwheel in the air to another vine.

When he did another one, he narrowly avoided crashing into a female lemur that was jumping towards him. The brown and gray female collided with another on a vine and fell down. The girls screamed, but where then tangled up in the numerous nature ropes, just a few inches from the grass.

Although Hazel was shocked at that at first, she was grateful that they weren't really hurt. She returned her gaze to the other lemurs and saw that they were having a hard time keeping up with Zini. With all the tricks and acrobatics he was performing, the female lemurs had trouble predicting on what he would do next. That was, until she noticed Aya. She out of all the female lemurs was keeping up with Zini easily.

Hazel had no idea that she was this active. Not only that, but a look of determination replaced the female's shyness. A warm feeling enveloped Hazel as she knew that her pep talk with Aya was paying off.

The girls were now mostly incapacitated from all the acrobatics or had given up on their goal of being with Zini. All of them except for the white-furred lemur. She did a few flips in the air and soon caught up with the young bachelor. When they locked eyes on to each other, it was as if time had stopped for them.

Zini was close to falling off when he noticed Aya. Her fur was pure white, save for the black splotch on her tail, and her eyes were the grayest he had ever seen. In contrast to his messy fur, hers was smooth and silky, even more so than the other girls he had seen.

"Whoa...I...haven't seen you before," he breathed out after swinging onto another vine.

"Oh...um…" her reply was muffled by the flower in her mouth.

"Let's see if you can keep up with this," Zini blurted out then jumped onto a twirling root on the tree.

All of the dinosaurs, pterosaur, and humans were stunned by what the young bachelor was doing. For the first time, a lemur was surfing down a root! This root was large and thick enough for him that it spiraled around the tree until it ended in a sort of ramp before the audience.

"What on earth is he doing!?" Eema exclaimed.

"Am I going mad, or is he doing the same thing he did when we first arrived here?" Baylene asked as she remembered the day they first arrived in the Nesting Grounds last time. While they were playing in the lake, the lemur had managed to use her great neck as a sort of ramp, which tickled her immensely.

Even Hazel was amazed. She compared this event to something like _Tarzan_ , which was one of her favorite Disney movies. Hazel was well aware of that character's stunts, as he always used his environment and improvisation to his advantage. That was what was happening now. What was even better was that Aya was keeping up by surfing on that root the same way. The two lemurs spiraled around the tree until they were at the natural ramp, where they jumped and hung onto the same vine. When they did, Aya tentatively gave him the flower, which he surprisingly accepted for the first time in his life.

Both Zini and Aya stared into each other's eyes and drifted off into their gazes.

"Hi...name's Zini. What's your name?"

"I'm...um...Ah...Aya," she stammered as she stared into those yellow eyes.

"Well," he chuckled. "Looks like someone needs a little help from the Professor of Love. And lucky for you, school is now in session."

With that said, both lemurs climbed up the vine, along with the others, to gaze at the sunset. The courtship ritual was now over, and the couples were each other's embraces. Well, except for a number of the female lemurs who tried to get Zini to be their mate. They were not happy when they saw Aya with him and leaped away in jealousy.

"Way to go Zini!" Aladar cheered from the far back.

"Nice job Aya! I knew you could do it!" Hazel went next and then proceeded to rejoin Nigel and the others.

With the ritual over, the dinosaurs, humans, lemurs, and pterosaur vacated the area and moved elsewhere, as the new couples would want to have some privacy. With the sky becoming darker by the minute, the shadow of night would soon be upon them. Hazel and Nigel decided to clock in for the night, so they greeted their friends before making their way to the camp near the cave.

"Ah...another day in paradise…" Nigel sighed as he walked alongside his time travelling partner. "Who knew that ancient primates could have mating rituals like those? I'm starting to think we have a lot in common with our earliest ancestors."

Hazel laughed at that joke. "Yeah the girl lemurs I saw at the beach were pretty similar to some women back in our time. Is it safe to say that we're direct descendants of these guys?"

"Well, it is possible. Especially that Zini fellow. We might be descended from him!"

The two explorers shared a laugh at the thought of that lemur being their ancestor. Hazel could clearly imagine them being his descendants. The human race in their time shared a number of characteristics with Zini. Perhaps genetics did have a role between the lemurs of the ancient past and the humans of the present day.

"As amazing as this place is, it's hard to believe that it will all fade into history by tomorrow…" the park creator remarked with a hint of sadness.

The girl stopped walking and turned at her mentor. Of all the times he had to bring that up, did it have to be now? Right when she was in a good mood? Now she was reminded of the looming threat that was to come in less than twenty-four hours. She clenched her fists and glared at him in frustration.

"Did you have to bring that up?" she gritted her teeth.

"Hazel, it's true. You know why we came here. Have you even told them yet?" he met her with calmness.

Her lack of response to that question confirmed Nigel's suspicions that she had not done so. He shook his head in disappointment and eyed her with urgency.

"Hazel, we're almost out of time. If you don't act now, then-"

"I'm well aware of that!" she screamed at him in anger. "You don't know what it's like do you!? Having to keep something that big from those you care about and risking their friendships!"

"Hazel, you can't run away from this. It's now or never. They have to know what's coming, even though it risks the bonds you share with them," he replied in a louder tone.

Nigel took in a breath and continued in his attempt to persuade her. "You told them almost a year ago that you were from the future. When you did, they trusted you. They did not care who you were or where you came from. If they trusted you then, then they should trust you now. Your fears are holding you back from what we came here to do. You have to tell them. It's the only possible way for this situation to have a happy ending."

The young woman closed her eyes to prevent the tears that were about to fall. Nigel's words burned her mind like a hot coal. As much as she wanted to believe that, there was also a chance that they would not view her the same way again. Now, she was regretting not convincing them to return with her to the past all those months ago. She did not want to think it, but she was now seeing that everything is all her fault.

"Leave me alone Nigel…" she choked back a sob. "I ne-I need to think…"

With that said, she turned away from him and ran as fast as she could towards the camp. Nigel, now left alone, looked up in the sky only to see streaks of light shooting by. The shooting stars did look beautiful and accompanied the stars that decorated the sky like diamonds. But the man knew all too well that those shooting stars were a precursor for what was to come.

Both Hazel and Nigel were well aware of one thing, even before they started this mission. Time was now their mortal enemy.

 _Tada! Chapter 7 is done! Once again, I'd like to thank Marc Ello-Re Yes for helping me out with this chapter. We both had fun in writing this chapter. The dialogue between Aladar/Zini and Hazel/Aya was slightly difficult, but I made it so that they were talking to their students at the same time, just like with Plio with the female lemurs and Yar with the males in the movie._

 _Now a few things:_

 _I did not put in a part where Plio and Yar would be having their talk with the females and males respectively. Let's just assume that it already happened in the chapter._

 _I did not mention this before, and I realized that I neglected to, but Hazel is of Asian descent. Her family emigrated from Southeast Asia to the US, then that leads up to her father's involvement (and pretty soon Hazel herself) with Nigel._

 _I did some research on the Titanosaurs in Prehistoric Park and found that they are most likely Borealosaurus, as they were mostly found in that area of prehistoric China._

 _The Old Gotoma part here was actually from a deleted scene from Disney's Dinosaur. It was listed as one of the special features._

 _With that said, we hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for Chapter 8 :)_


	8. Nightmare Visions

_Hey guys, Darksage and Marc Ello-Re Yes here with a new chapter for the story. Now I'm sure you guys noticed the new summary and title change to the story. Part 2 as a title felt a little bland, so we wanted to spice things up. Hope it you like it and this chapter_ _._ _ **Disclaimer: we do not own Disney's Dinosaur and Prehistoric Park, only the characters we created.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: A Difficult Choice by Tyler Hildebrand**_

That night…65 million years ago

It was the middle of the night. The air was slightly cool and the clouds masked the night sky. No stars could be seen. Not even the brightness of the moon could illuminate the scenery. Except for the chirping of crickets, all was quiet. The leaves rustled softly as a gentle breeze blew over the valley.

The dinosaurs slept soundly in the grounds. All of them were either sleeping near their nests, with their comrades, or alone. Aladar and Neera slept near their nest with their children, who were all sleeping together. Nearby, the giant form of Baylene rested by the lake along with Eema and Url, who both slept against her large form as if she were a fortress from the wind. Flia the _Pteranodon_ slept soundly on the _Brachiosaurus'_ back as she also provided a good vantage point of the area. The lemurs could not be found as they were all hidden and sleeping in the forest.

The only things that seemed out of place were the two tents that stood vigil a few ways off from the whole herd. Time travelers Nigel and Hazel decided that basing themselves nearby the cave would provide them enough space to move around and some security from getting trampled on. The campfire they made a few hours ago had already died out; the last of the embers succumbed to the darkness while the wisps of smoke stretched up into the sky.

It was quiet outside of the tents. Inside the one nearest the cave, Nigel slept soundly. His notebook, supply bags, bag of samples, and other pieces of equipment were littered everywhere in his space. Due to the day they had, it did not take very long for him to drift into sleep.

Hazel's tent was in a similar condition. However, unlike her mentor, she was not having the best time. Her eyes were closed, but she was tossing and turning violently in her sleep. She moaned, had shallow breaths, kept shaking her head, and was sweating.

"No…" she muttered.

"No don't…" she went again, this time a little louder.

"No!" Hazel blurted out in a much louder voice.

She was in a nightmare, and there was no escape.

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The once green valley was in flames. Burning debris from the heavens came raining down onto the fiery landscape. Patches of land that were still green were soon overcome by stranded flames or demolished by impacting debris.

The sky was dark. It was once sunny, but the sun became overshadowed by the looming clouds. The rocks screamed as they fell down into the earth as if they were miniature rocket missiles. Once they crashed, it was as if a small bomb went off.

The forest that surrounded the valley was now up in flames. The meteorites that came down had caused the foliage to catch on fire. Where the rocks crashed, the trees would fall. Those unfortunate to be in that area perished in the ever-growing flames of hell.

Dinosaurs, small pterosaurs, and even lemurs ran rampant everywhere. All of them ran to where the cave was in order to seek shelter. They roared and screamed as the fire and brimstone fell down to obliterate them where they stood. If they did not get hit by the incoming rocks, then the scattering debris from the impacts would give them third degree burns. It was chaos everywhere.

Hazel screamed as she narrowly dodged an incoming meteorite. She had just escaped the forest and was headed towards the cave. She had to quickly run to the forest to tell Plio, Yar, Suri, Zini, and the other surviving lemurs to get to the cave. The girl ran as fast as she could, with every ounce of energy she could muster.

Behind her, the lemurs followed. They hopped furiously as if they were frightened rabbits being chased by a ravenous fox. At the front was Plio, who was leading the escaping lemurs. She had stopped just to make sure that the rest of them would get ahead of her. The primate looked back and observed each and every one of them go past her.

"Go go! Come on! We have to get to the cave!"

In the far back was her father, Yar. She gasped as she had watched him trip over a fallen branch. The matriarch quickly hopped over to him and helped him up.

"Leave me Plio!" he retorted as he recovered from his fall. "Just get with the others!"

"No!" she screamed as she pushed him along until he started leaping away again. "I'm not leaving you behind!"

Far ahead of them, Hazel had managed to get to the entrance of the cave. Various members of the herd rushed passed her as they sought shelter in the cavern. All of them stopped when they arrived and turned to look back at the burning landscape. The dark-haired woman ran over to one area of the cave and then set down her bag. She quickly took out the time poles from the largest compartment, planted them on opposite ends of the cave, and activated them. The portal rang to life with a whirl, but none of the dinosaurs or lemurs heard it as the sound was lost to the screaming meteorites and inhabitants.

"Everyone! Get to the portal! It will get you out of here!" she screamed at all of them.

Her eyes widened in horror when she realized that none of them heard her. Hazel ran up to one _Parasaurolophus_ and pulled at its tail, urging it to turn and run in the other direction.

"Come on! If you stay here any longer, then you'll either get crushed or get fried to a crisp!"

But the dinosaur, nor the others, listened to her plea. They all stood transfixed at the scene before them. Hazel rushed to the front just to get them to listen to her. She was about to scream at them again when she noticed something off about their faces. Or more specifically, their eyes. Their eyes radiated fear and helplessness. When she looked behind her, she gasped in horror.

Those unfortunate to make it to the cave were either suffering from the meteoric shrapnel wounds or their burns. The one that stood out was the immense form of Baylene. The _Brachiosaurus_ bellowed loudly as she dodged each earthly missile by moving her head and neck. But that did not last long. One stray meteorite hit her dead on in the middle of the long neckline. She shrieked in pain at the intense burning and the new gaping hole. Blood spewed out from the wound like a small fountain. Then, more rocks came and took the sauropod down. The earth trembled slightly along with the space rocks at her fall.

"Baylene!" Hazel screamed. Red hot tears burned her face as she watched one of her friends die before her eyes.

The horror did not end there. To the left of the giant was Eema, Url, and a number of the remaining lemurs. Like Baylene, they too met their end. This time, they became surrounded by a wall of flames. Their forms were obstructed from everyone's view. The only thing left of them was the sound of their anguished cries for help. Moments later, nothing came from the wall of flames.

"No…no!" the human shook her head in disbelief. Right before her eyes, her friends were dying.

Suddenly, a tremor coursed through the earth below them. The dinosaurs and human lost their footing and fell on their stomach or off their feet at the sudden waves. The land shook violently, and a huge crack began to expand from the valley before them and the cave. The ravine grew wider as if something was tearing it apart.

When Hazel blinked, she noticed that further off from where Eema, Baylene, and the lemurs perished were a small group of dinosaurs. The woman squinted and saw that it was a familiar light purple _Iguanodon_ and her children, along with Tirech and Charon, cowering from the earth's gaping maw.

Hazel knew that most of the children in the distance were the kids she met before, but the other three she noticed were the three girls she had briefly seen with Neera the day before. The three girls looked very much like their mother, with one of them looking very much like her except for the thin purple stripes on her back and her scales were a lighter pink. The other two were different; one was a light jade-green while the other was a light lavender.

All of them backed away from the crevice quickly. But as they tried to retreat, the crack grew too close to them. The ground beneath one of the younglings gave way. The juvenile dropped from view, tumbling to the dark death below.

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"My baby!" Neera shrieked at the sight of one of her falling daughters.

The baby screamed until the sound died down. The female let out an anguished cry of sorrow from losing one of her children. Soon, one by one, more of the younglings fell to same fate. Talin and Alden were the only remaining ones to survive. Both of them frantically tried to climb up as their bodies were hanging from the cliff just like their father was a year ago against Diablo.

"Mom!" Talin cried. "Help!"

Neera craned her head over to him and tried to push him up. The juvenile hoisted himself up and put a foot on one of the rocks from beneath him. When he did, the rock gave way. Talin yelped as he returned to where he was before.

"Talin hold on!" his mother yelled.

"Mom I'm slipping!" Alden whimpered loudly nearby.

Neera quickly turned to her left and saw her youngest child attempt to climb back up. She rushed over to him, but when she did, the ground that Talin hung on to crumbled and fell. The little boy's screams permeated from the ravine until it sounded no more.

"Talin no!" she cried at losing another one of her children.

"Mommy help me!" Alden pleaded for his mother's help.

"It's okay honey! I'm here!" she consoled him by lowering her head onto his neck. She then pulled inward to allow her son to pull himself up.

But like before, the earth's appetite could not be sated. The ground that Neera and her child was on gave way. Both mother and child disappeared from view as they dropped to their deaths hundreds of feet below.

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Hazel could not take any more. She was just standing there, doing nothing, and everyone around her was perishing. More tears streamed from her eyes and burned her face. She clenched her fists and screamed at the herd at the top of her lungs.

"ALL OF YOU LISTEN TO ME! GET INTO THE PORTAL NOW OR YOU'LL DIE!"

The various ornithopods did not even look down at her. They looked on at the new hell before them. The feeling of defeat was apparent in their eyes.

"There is no escape…" said one male _Pachyrhinosaurus_.

"Escape or not, our fate is the same," a female _Struthiomimus_ uttered blankly.

"This is our home," a male _Iguanodon_ from the far left blurted out. "We cannot leave it."

Hazel couldn't believe what she was hearing. The animals that she was desperately trying to save have now given up on her and themselves. "YOU STUPID LIZARDS! AREN'T YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?"

The _Parasaurolophus_ that she was pulling on earlier looked down at her in resentment. When she spoke, it was a female with a country accent. "Why should we? You were tha' one that caused all this!"

"What!?" Hazel retorted. "What are you talking about? I didn't cause this!"

"You did human!" a male _Styracosaurus_ nearby accused her. She looked over to her left and saw him glaring down at her.

"You're nothing but a bad omen! We never should have trusted you!"

A spiky-headed _Stygimolych_ close to her bleated. "You coming here has caused the death of us all and the destruction of our home!"

"What the hell are you talking about!? I'm here to save you! That's why I came here!" the human defended.

Suddenly, she was pulled away from the cave by some invisible force. Hazel screamed as she was dragged through the air at blinding speeds. The valley below her zoomed by as if she were on a monorail going backwards. She looked down at first at the ground, but when she looked at the cave, she saw that the ceiling collapsed from another earth tremor, crushing the dinosaurs within. Their cavernous refuge becoming their tomb. Not only was her mission gone, but so was her only way back home.

The ordeal ended when she landed on a faraway cliff. The forest that it bordered was on fire, but strangely enough, the rest of the trees surrounding that cliff were not affected. Perhaps it was because the fire had not gotten to that area yet.

The girl grunted when she fell on her back. This experience was not only odd, but it also did not harm her at all. Nothing in this apparition had the capacity to pull her back that fast. Hazel thought about that some more, but even when she did, her head began to hurt.

Just then, a screech sounded from above. The time traveler looked up and saw Flia flying erratically as she tried to escape the oncoming barrage of rocks. She swerved quickly from side to side to avoid the oncoming rocks. Then, out of nowhere, a much larger meteorite appeared from the clouds and came hurtling towards the _Pteranodon_.

"Flia get out of there!" she screamed at the top of her voice, warning the pterosaur above her.

Too late. When the scout heard her best friend's voice, the burning rock had collided with her. There was no scream, as it had already been silenced when the helpless reptile was pushed out of the air. The space debris had sent her down into another part of the valley west of where Hazel was. She could not see it once it hit 100 feet, but she knew that Flia was dead.

"Flia…" her voice cracked. Hazel shook her head at what she had witnessed. She did her best to dismiss the fact that her best friend was dead. "No…this can't be happening…"

As if it was not enough, a sound from a few feet from her position went off. It was that of a low groan. Hazel slowly looked to her left and saw an _Iguanodon_ , lying against the rocks helplessly. Patches of blue-green scales were darkened by third degree burns, especially on most of the right side of his rib area. Blood was seeping from his wounds, coloring patches of the grass a deep crimson color. His right hoof hung limply whenever he tried to lift it up. He winced in pain as he tried to move.

"Aladar…?" Hazel barely said his name over the urge to cry.

The wounded leader lifted his head up to stare at her. While she expected a pleading look, she got one that was full of hatred. Aladar gritted his teeth and yelled at her.

"You! How could you do this to us!?"

"Aladar," she lifted her hands up in an apologetic manner. "Please listen to me!"

"No!" he refused. "Why didn't you tell us about the fireball!?"

"I…I didn't know how to tell you. You were facing so much last year. I didn't want to give you even more bad news. And you were so happy when you came here. I…I didn't want to ruin it!"

Aladar growled. "You stupid human…you caused all of this!"

"No I didn't!" she stomped her foot. "I came back here to save you and to bring you all to the safety of the Future! That was the whole reason why I came to this era in the first place! Back where I'm from, I live in a place called Prehistoric Park. It's a hidden sanctuary where humans and prehistoric creatures live in harmony. I didn't want to tell you anything because I didn't want to force you into coming with me!"

Aladar let out a huff. "So you came back here just so you can add us to your collection in your home."

"No it's not like that at all! My mission was to bring all of you back so you could escape all of this! So that you can be given a second chance!"

The dinosaur bellowed angrily. "So that's what we are? A mission? I thought humans were among the kindest and most loyal creatures I've ever met. I guess I was wrong…You and your kind are nothing but selfish, arrogant pests!"

Aladar's words were like a knife to Hazel's heart. Her friend would never say this to her, or anybody. Her body shivered and goosebumps flared on her skin. Her breathing became shallow and her face became pale.

"What's happening Aladar?" she whispered. "Why are you doing this?"

"I should have never trusted you!" he yelled at her. "I'd rather die here than surrender to you humans!"

At that statement, a whirling sound erupted from directly behind Hazel. She turned for a split second to see what it was, but when she did, she ended up being sucked backwards into a stray time portal. How and why it appeared, that did not matter to her. She extended a hand out to her friend in a futile attempt to reach out to him.

"ALADAR!" she screamed.

Then, right before her very eyes, a wall of burning ash, smoke, and fire covered what was once the leader of the herd. There was no scream, as it had been blanketed out by the whirl of the time vortex. Hazel flew backwards helplessly, but was transfixed at the fading window in time. The scenery around her changed from a warped version of the burning landscape to a sheet of pitch black. To her, it was as if she was getting sucked into a black hole.

Immediately after the scenery changed, Hazel landed on her back hard with a grunt. She lay there, flat, her arms stretched out, and staring blankly at the fading vortex. The hole above her shrunk until it was no more. She slowly sat up and looked around.

There was nothing. That's all there was. No trees, no water, no sky, no humans, no dinosaurs. Just…nothing but darkness. But Hazel disregarded that. In fact, she didn't care.

The woman brought her knees to her chest, buried her eyes into her arms, and cried.

"I'm sorry!" she wailed in her emotional rambling.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…"

She cried for what felt like hours. Red hot tears once again streamed down her cheeks from her red eyes. The pain in her heart ached as she kept crying. The sight of her friends dying, the accusations of the herd, and the hurtful words of one of her best friends made the pain in her chest feel unbearable.

If she had taken a moment to breathe and look in front of her, she would have noticed that a light shone in the darkness. The light grew larger until it was about four times larger than her in height. Then, it took shape: a tail extended from the back, large hind legs came next, then came two strong hooves with thick three-digit fingers. The hooves also had a pinkie and a thumb spike. The head that formed was that of a strong yet battle-weary herbivore with a significant raised arch on the snout.

"So the mighty Hazel has been brought down to her knees," the figure hissed insultingly. "How pathetic."

Hazel stopped her crying and slowly looked up. When she opened her eyes, they widened like marbles. Standing before her was a dinosaur. The creature was on four legs, had multiple scars on his body, but was strong considering his condition. She then gasped when she saw that this was no ordinary dinosaur because he had purple scales and a defined arch on his snout.

"Kron…" was what she breathed out after fumbling through some words.

"But you're dead," Hazel quietly said.

If going through that horrible ordeal before was not enough, then facing the deceased leader's ghost took the cake. She knew that there were mysterious things out there in the real world, but never before had she taken into account that dinosaurs could be spirits. When she was younger, Hazel would sometimes watch ghost shows for entertainment or other reasons, but she never thought they would be fact.

"True, but that did not stop me from coming here, now did it?" he replied with pride.

"Why are you here?" she glared daggers at him. "To make my life miserable?"

Kron scoffed at that. "You wish. I have my own reasons."

"What do you want?" she hissed.

"Protecting the herd is my priority," he bluntly put it. "Why else would I be here?"

"You bastard," Hazel looked away from him. "You're not alive anymore. You don't get a say in what the herd does anymore."

"Insubordinate child!" the _Iguanodon_ roared. The surprise outburst prompted Hazel to look back at her former superior. "I am the TRUE leader of the herd! Not that wimpy, mediocre outsider that was raised by those hairy insects!"

The girl slammed her hands on the invisible ground. "Correction. You WERE the leader! You nearly drove the herd to their deaths last year when you tried to make them climb that wall! A leader that risks the safety of others by making stupid actions like that is not fit for that title!"

The dinosaur snorted loudly at her as a form of defiance. The girl stood up and stared determined in his face. "You've had your turn leading Kron. Aladar is a better leader than you ever were. Like it or not, the mantle has been passed."

Both spirit and living human eyed each other in a staring contest. None of them let up as they peered into each other's soul. After what seemed like eternity, the loser walked off, not wanting to waste any time with his opponent.

"That's right. Walk away. You know I am right!" she yelled victoriously.

Kron stopped in his tracks. He looked back at her and let out a low growl. "Typical. You may appear high and mighty, but you're nothing but a coward. You're all bark and no bite."

"Excuse me!?" she yelled flabbergasted by his description of her.

"You weakling, if you were trying to save the herd, then why didn't you tell them about the real reason as to why you returned?"

"How do you know about that?" Hazel watched him in suspicion.

Kron chuckled softly. "One tends to learn a lot when they are dead."

The girl folded her arms. "Then you know why I can't do that. They won't trust me if I do. They'll look at me as if I were a bad omen."

The dinosaur turned around to face her. "You just showed your cowardice human! If my desire for the herd to follow my lead through action would've gotten them killed, then your fear of rejection and inability to act would have the same result!"

The former Alpha's rage was felt through his disgust of the feeble creature before him. "If you had the resolve to save them, then you would have accepted the consequences that would come, results be damned! That is what separates you from me. I would tell them and force them to come along with me whether they liked it or not. You on the other hand are too frightened by the thought of losing your friends rather than accomplishing your true purpose."

"Shut up! You have no right to tell me that!" she screamed.

"If you won't heed what I say, then the herd will die!" Kron argued. "And whose fault will that be?"

Hazel's heart stopped at that. She looked down in despair after hearing those words. It took her a moment, but she finally realized what Kron was saying was true. She was just sitting there, doing nothing to save the herd while time was running out. Telling the herd now or at the last minute would not make a difference as they would still show distrust towards her. She was basically taking them away from their home, their era. Hazel did not want to admit it, but the dead leader was right. She was a coward.

"There is a reason…as to why I didn't want to tell them," she said softly while not looking at him. "That valley is all they have ever known. If they return with me to the present, they will be outsiders in a new world. Prehistoric Park accepts all from various points in time, but it will not be the same world they came from. I just wanted them to be happy, but I didn't know how to tell them."

She took in a breath. "But I came here for a reason. Even if they don't trust me after I tell them, I still want to save them."

Once again, Kron chuckled as if a superior was looking down upon an insect. "Congratulations, you have taken your first step in resolving this mess."

"Wait what?" she stared at him dumbly.

"You may not be a leader, and you never will be," he sneered at her. "But you show the traits for one. Running away from problems will only show your fear to others, but facing them, now that is a different story."

Hazel scoffed. "Kron, the arrogant and selfish _Iguanodon_ that mercilessly led the herd for years, is helping me? Now that's a new one."

The dinosaur then peered down to her eye level and stared at her with those cold, heartless eyes. "You helped save the herd from my leadership and certain death. You even braved the trials that came before you. And…"

Kron sighed gruffly. "You saved my sister's life."

Hazel's eyes widened at what she had just heard. "Is that you saying 'thanks' to me? What the heck happened to you? The real Kron would never do that."

"You are out of your mind human!" he stomped his foot, which scared the girl and made her jump. "I would never say such a thing!"

The human chuckled softly. "Sure you wouldn't…"

"Protect my sister…even though she hates me now."

Hazel shook her head at that statement. "No. She doesn't hate you. You may have made a lot of mistakes while you were still alive, but she still loves you. If she truly hated you, then she would have never tried to rescue you from that _Carnotaurus_. She would have never grieved for you when you died. And to this day, even if she does not show it, she misses you. I can feel it."

Kron looked away to attempt to escape that sappy moment. He did not show it, but deep down, Hazel could sense that his spirits had been lifted.

She then swallowed and thought of another thing she wanted to say. "Listen, about that Carnotaur. I…he's not dead. I saved him."

"I know," he said flatly, looking back at her.

Hazel looked at him, this time not as surprised. He was dead after all, meaning that he can view the lives of everyone from somewhere different than their plain of existence. So it would make sense that he would know about the incident.

"Did…did I do the right thing? He's a predator, but he was driven by madness and by the instinct to hunt. I saved him because all creatures deserve to live. Now…now he intends to come after Aladar if…when the herd is saved."

"I cannot answer that," Kron huffed. "Any predator is an enemy to me, but you humans think differently. For that, I have no right to question your decision."

Hazel sighed. "Alright then. I guess it's up to me to decide if it's right or not."

The dinosaur said nothing to that. Instead, he spoke to her in a tone of urgency. "I have worked hard all my life to ensure the safety of the herd to the Nesting Grounds and during the migration. If they die, then I will forever be in regret. You must save them…and my sister, regardless of the consequences."

Her resolve was clear. She took in a deep breath and nodded.

"I'll do it."

Kron nodded in gratitude. At last, the dead leader and the human have reached a point of understanding. Hazel still hated him, but now she has a bit more respect for the deceased dinosaur. It was also after talking to him that she realized that what Kron had done was for the best of the herd. He had done what he did in the past for their survival, even if it meant choosing to sacrifice the few to insure that _someone_ in the herd would reap the rewards of his deeds.

"There is…one last thing that must be done," he explained.

Hazel lifted an eyebrow. "What's that?"

The last thing she saw was a small smile from Kron. Never before had he smiled at her because he viewed her as inferior in way possible. But now, now was different.

He took in a deep breath and roared at the top of his lungs. "WAKE UP!"

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Hazel let out a gasp and her eyes snapped open. She then sat up quickly after being jolted awake. She was breathing heavily and sweat ran down her brow. Hazel put her hands on her cheeks and on her eyes and felt dry tear streaks. She wiped them away with a few swipes. The human looked around and saw that she was in her tent. Her supplies were strewn around the area. The green sleeping bag she slept in was open as she had been tossing and turning in it all night.

The flap on the door of the purple tent may be zipped up, but she could see through the fabric that it was dawn due to the receding dark blue to a lighter tone in the sky. Hazel unzipped the door first from the bottom left, up around the semicircle, then down to the right. When the flap came down, she could clearly see the outside. Hazel noticed that Nigel's tent was gone and so were his supplies, meaning that he must have gotten up earlier to pack his things into the jeep. Seeing that reminded her of what today was, which made the dread she felt even worse. She climbed out and looked behind her to see the view.

Over in the horizon, passed the mountains in the east, the blue tones began to recede. Large masses of clouds gathered in the sky as if a storm was coming. However, it did not completely shroud where the sun would rise. The sun was about to come up to greet the new day. Unfortunately, Hazel knew that this would be the last if something was not done.

She sighed and put her boots on, which were next to her tent. She also grabbed her dagger from inside the tent and strapped it on to her belt. When she straight stood up, she stretched her legs, arms, and flexed her back. As she did that, she thought about the dream she had not too long ago. That dream was a result of her fear of failing the mission and not going through with telling the herd. Thinking back on the dream she had, she wondered if Kron did visit her from the other side. Or perhaps it was just a manifestation of her inner conscience. Either way, her resolve was now clear.

Hazel took out her phone to check the time. When she went through the various screens to get to the timer, she saw that it was 5 AM and that there was at least 2 hours left until the meteor strike. She inhaled sharply before putting her phone back into her pocket.

She must save the herd, no matter the cost.

It took her some time to pack everything up, but she did so within 30 minutes. With her tent, sleeping bag, and other essentials packed and stored away into the jeep in the cave, she set out to face her fear. She narrowly avoided the myriad of sleeping dinosaurs, including a pair of sleeping _Pachyrhinosaurus_ that jerked violently as they slept, as she proceeded to find a certain blue-green _Iguanodon_.

Her trial by fire has just begun.

 _Oh boy…things are about to get messy. With the meteor on the way, Hazel and Nigel are now racing against the clock. But what will happen then? Will Aladar and the gang still trust Hazel after this? Will they even escape the meteor in time? Find out next time on Dinosaur: Extinction Lasts Forever! :D_


	9. Disaster Strikes

_Alrighty guys, Darksage and Marc Ello-Re Yes here with another chapter for this story! Just a quick note before reading this, you will see the phrase "The End" for quite a bit in this chapter. "The End" doesn't exactly mean "until meteor impact", it just means "until the meteor blast wave hits the Nesting Grounds". Other than that, enjoy!_ _ **Disclaimer: We don't own Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: The Meteor Strike/Saving the World by Daniel Pemberton**_

Aladar closed his eyes and breathed in the cool spring air. Normally, he would be awake when the sun was fully up. However, there were some days when he would have enough energy to get up early to go for an early morning walk. Whenever he did, he always found it refreshing to see the beauty of the valley in the early morning; the dew sticking on the grass, the gentle breeze of the wind, and the soft buzzing of insects.

He stood on the hill near where the great tree was. During his early morning walks, he would always go here because being next to it reminded him of his old home. Although he still had his family, he would find himself reminiscing about the past. That island was all he had ever known for most of his life, except the day when the Fireball came. That cursed rock was the one that destroyed his home, and he wished that he could do more for those that did not survive. Sometimes, he wished he could somehow go back to that day and rescue all of them. On the other hand, if it were not for the Fireball, then he would not have met the herd. Or Neera for that matter. Without that Fireball, he would not be where he was today.

Aladar's reminisces were interrupted when he heard the familiar flap of wings above him. He opened his eyes and looked up, only to see a certain pterosaur descend and land before him. Like the _Iguanodon_ , Flia would wake up early to get an early morning exercise/scout around the valley of anything interesting. Unlike Aladar, this has become more of a routine for her.

"Morning Flia," Aladar greeted with a nod.

"Hi Aladar. Fancy seeing you here. Admiring the view?"

The dinosaur chuckled. "Maybe. You know, I've only been the leader of this herd for a short while, but I'm still not really used to the position."

Flia playfully groaned. "Oh come on…you've been the leader for a whole year. Don't tell me you're about to let all that authority get to your head?"

"No not a chance," he replied.

The _Pteranodon_ shook her head then turned around towards the view. She stopped and gazed at the crystal lake, an ongoing testament to the beautiful valley.

"You know, I've got a feeling about today."

Aladar looked at the flyer before him and wondered about it. "About what?"

"I can't explain it," she said. "I've got a feeling that…something big is going to happen."

"What do you mean?"

The scout frowned and looked up at the sky. "You know those feelings you get when you think that something's coming? Some life-changing event? Or that feeling that you're being watched? I'm having that right now."

The leader eyed her in confusion. "Is it a good thing or a bad thing?"

Flia shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. But something is going to happen. And I'm not sure if I should be excited or not."

"I don't know Flia…I think you're starting to lose it," he joked.

"Aladar! Flia!" a voice called to them from their left.

Both diverted their attention to the source and found their friend Hazel running up to them. The girl stopped before them and bent down on her knees, heavily gasping for air. They wondered as to why she was up so early, but none was more concerning than the look on her face when she looked up to them. Her expression was fully of worry and fear, something that caused them to be very concerned.

"Hazel what's wrong?" Flia was the first to start.

The human gasped in more air. "Guys…danger…coming…"

"Danger?" Aladar asked curiously. "What danger?"

Hazel stood straight up and took in a deep breath. For a moment, she remained silent. This was the moment now. The dream she had hours ago, the fear that built up within her ever since she returned to her time, they were all making her adrenaline rush. Her heart beat as if it were in her throat. Either it was from frantically running around just to find her friends, or what she was about to face now. It was time to tell them.

"Aladar…Flia…everyone in this valley is in danger. We have to get out of here now, otherwise-" she tried to explain but was then cut off by Aladar.

"Whoa whoa, calm down. What's going on?"

Hazel breathed in again and closed her eyes. "You guys…you remember that day when I told you I was from the future? You accepted me and trusted me regardless of that."

Flia took a step forward and leaned in towards her. "Of course Hazel. You're our friend. You're practically one of us."

She was relieved to hear that, at least for a moment. Hearing that from Flia gave her confidence. And it was that confidence that allowed her to push through with facing her fear.

"If you trusted me then, then you have to trust me now. We have to leave this valley," she told them with urgency. "Because in a little over an hour, a Fireball is going to break through the atmosphere and destroy everything."

It was at that moment that the ancient creatures' hearts stopped beating. While some bits of that explanation were confusing, they knew that what their friend was telling them was ill news. Flia's mouth dropped like a rock. While Aladar succeeded in controlling himself from overreacting, his scout was not doing so well.

"WHAT!?" she screamed. "If this is some kind of sick joke, then I swear, I will peck your eyes out!"

Hazel stood there and calmly stared at her friend. "I'm not kidding Flia. This valley and everything you know will disappear. The once green and beautiful land that you know now will be filled with fire and brimstone."

"Hazel," Flia uttered as she did her best to speak to her in a more controlled tone. "How did you come by this information?"

The girl tensed up when her best friend said that. She wanted to tell them as quickly as she could without much explanation. But it would appear that there was no escaping it. Well, at least that was what she thought until she heard a car horn behind her along with the sound of wheels.

The human and two prehistoric beings turned and saw a jeep rush towards them. The vehicle veered to the side and skid to a stop. When it did, they saw that the driver was none other than Nigel.

" _Oh thank you Nigel,"_ Hazel thought with relief.

"Sorry to interrupt this morning discussion, but we need to move now! We've got a little over 60 minutes before we're all fried to a crisp!"

The young Asian woman shivered. "We have to wake everyone up. Now!"

Aladar, who was doing his best to be in control of himself, looked over at the herd. Most of them were clustered near the lake, but he knew that some of them preferred to sleep at the edge of the valley behind him. Not only that, but there was still the lemur clan in the forest. They all needed to be warned.

"We need to tell everyone to make for the caves. It's the only way to escape the Fireball," he told both scouts.

Hazel clenched her fists and objected to his plan. "No! The caves won't protect you from the blast! That Fireball last year is nothing compared to the one that's coming!"

"Then where can we go!?" he questioned her in a louder tone, worry now very apparent.

"We know a safer place," she told him then returned her gaze to her mentor. "Nigel, the time poles-"

Nigel may have heard only half the conversation, but he understood what was going on. His student finally faced her fear. He smiled at the person that had replaced her and nodded.

"Got it! Let's get moving. The longer we stay here, the greater the risk we'll get caught in that blast."

He was about to drive off when he noticed Hazel run up to the jeep. She opened one of the doors and dove in with half of her body towards one of the back seats. When she did, she grabbed onto a familiar leather saddle that was folded behind the passenger seat and then climbed out. The door shut and the driver sped off to the main part of the valley.

Aladar looked down at the scouts and gave his order. "You two, fly to the other side of the valley and warn everybody. Tell them to get to the caves as quickly as they can!"

"Got it!" they both answered.

Flia then looked at her partner in determination and turned her back to her. Although a lot of questions ran through her mind about how she knew about the Fireball, the _Pteranodon_ still trusted her friend. If she and Nigel know of a place where they could be all safe, then what right does she have to question it?

Hazel quickly strapped the saddle on Flia then mounted on her. The pterosaur then launched forward and took to the skies with the human on her back. The _Iguanodon_ leader watched them go for a moment before proceeding to follow Nigel.

Aladar let out the loudest bellows he could muster. In the past, he would always do so when he would lead the herd during the migrations. Now, he was doing so to warn them. The sounds he made were enough to wake them all up. They all jerked their heads and turned at the leader and odd vehicle coming towards them. All of the members made sounds and yawns from their sudden awakening.

"Everyone wake up! A Fireball is coming!" Aladar screamed at them.

As they sped throughout that part of the valley, something sped above them at lightning fast speeds. Aladar looked up and saw multiple flaming rocks raining down from the sky. Seeing them caused his memories of the year before to flood back to him. The destruction from before had started when these celestial debris rained down from above. He followed their flaming trails and became nearly deaf when he heard them crash onto the part of the valley behind him. The sounds were deafening, which were enough to get everyone's attention. The rocks that crashed into the valley broke apart and spread smaller debris as if they were shrapnel in a war. The flames they carried spread onto the plant life, kick starting a fire.

The herd members became frightened at what was happening and ran around the area. This caused a stampede to occur as hundreds of dinosaurs ran, fearing for their lives.

"Follow Nigel on the wheeled thing and get to the caves!" Aladar told them as he sped by.

The clock was ticking and the end was now upon them…

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The Present, 6:08 a.m. / 52 minutes before The End…

Arriving on a red and orange ATV from the Prehistoric Park barracks to his Workshop, Marcus felt good about today. While his concerns the day before were well founded, he ran the numbers again and came up with some cutbacks to temporarily help Prehistoric Park continue until they get their next stipend from their benefactor, the South African Guardians of Endangered Species. Or, as they are more commonly known as, The "S.A.G.E.S." Marcus personally thought they were an odd group of people, using unconventional methods to protect animals from peaceful protests to disrupting poacher through cyber crimes, but they had their hearts in the right place.

The organization had unknowingly funded most of Prehistoric Park and has provided the surrounding land for the Park to use with the only condition being that the land would be a wildlife preserve for endangered animals. What they didn't know was that Nigel made it a preserve for _extinct_ animal wildlife. So in a way, they are technically using the land within the set conditions of the organization.

The engineer just hoped that the park employees would understand the necessity of a… _very slight_ … pay deduction on their next paychecks. As long as they didn't get a massive surge of new residents, they should be fine until they can find a more reliable way to gain the necessary funds to keep Prehistoric Park functioning.

"Heh, what are the odds of that ever happening though?" Marcus said to himself as he pulled down favorite goggles to his neck, placed his hardhat on his head, and entered his "office".

Marcus was starting his day by looking over the designs of Prehistoric Park's perimeter barrier for minute flaws, hastily writing down notes and concept designs for future projects, and repairing a pair of mobile Time-Poles simultaneously while he took sips of his favorite brand of peppermint coffee.

While working on multiple complex projects would seem daunting to most, Marcus prefers keeping his technical mind sharp and his utilize every second of his work time to gain near perfection in his machines or "babies" as he calls them when no one was around. He gets bored easily if just focused on one task, so Marcus will usually work on many things at once with surprising success to stave off his hyperactive mind.

Anyone looking in at his workshop would compare it to a grenade exploding and scattering his belongings all over the place. Many tools hung on incorrect places on the wall and littered the table. Hammers of various sizes hanging where wrenches should be placed, welding torches and soldering irons resting almost carelessly on flammable objects and screwdrivers were stuffed in with a box of screws. Just being in the workshop would make a person develop OCD if left alone long enough in Marcus' scattered workstation. While the room was unkempt like its owner, Marcus is capable of navigating through his clutter that he insists is not a mess to get whatever he needs. It was "Organized Chaos!" as he would often refer it as. The phrase did not catch on to others as much as he hoped.

He always liked to insure that the park's equipment ran as quick and efficiently as possible. It gave him a sense of pride knowing that whenever Nigel or any of the keepers use the time machine that he basically was the one behind them getting to and from the past and present safely. He was just about finished with his repairs to the miniscule time machine when his smartphone rang the theme of Black Sabbath's _Iron man._ Marcus reached over to answer, humming along with the catchy ring tone.

"Da dah dut dah duh! Dadadadadada dah dut dah duh! Hello?"

"MARCUS!" Nigel's voice rang out.

The young engineer jumped in surprise, both at his boss' surprise call and the volume of Nigel's voice.

True to the park creator's word, he did not tell anyone of his inventions; that being the specialized cell phones he and Hazel have now and the special communicator. Like every staff member in the park, Marcus did not know about this, and he surely did not know that the special phones could even have reception across time and space.

"Sir is that you? How are you calling me right now? Aren't you in the Cretaceous period with Hazel? How are you—," Marcus was cut off by the urgency of Nigel's voice.

"Listen Marcus! I need you open up the time poles back to the present. QUICKLY!"

"Why did you call me boss? Just port back to the 'holding pen'-poles." Marcus raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The mobile time-poles always transmitted its signal to sync up and link to the holding pen's stationary time-poles. It saved a lot of processing power and function to have the miniature time machine to simply send out its signal through time and connect to the large primary time-poles. This function made it so the stationary time-poles can open and close rift on its own, while the mobile version just opens back to the primary time-poles (that being the holding pen's). The perplexed mechanical genius could have sworn he heard Nigel curse under his breath.

"Marcus. Hazel and I are coming in with multiple rescues that the pens can't hold all at once! Go to the reserved land I plotted out for the park in the valley section and set up a pair of time poles there! The KT event has just started and I need a portal open at those plains. RIGHT NOW!"

Surprised and concerned at his boss' agitated tone, Marcus' laid-back attitude immediately became serious.

"Alright. I can roundup some boys and have a stationary T-pole (time-pole) up and running at the valley in five-hours—"

"The meteor's impact will reach us in one! My countdown clock on my time-tablet says that by seven o'clock, myself, Hazel, and the animals here will be burnt to a crisp!"

"WHAT! You want me to set you up a pair of time-poles in under an hour! The parts to those things _literally_ weigh a ton. It'll take a crane to lift all of the parts there two-hours. And _assembling_ it will take even longer!"

"Marcus I know I am—lot of yo—ut we n—IGHT NO—URR—!" Nigel's call broke up. The interference from the ancient celestial rock was scrambling the Time-Tablet's signal, causing the engineer to worry.

"Nigel? Hello? NIGEL!"

The young man cursed Nigel for putting him through these stressful situations. Marcus didn't understand how a simple engineer like himself was roped into the craziness of his boss' expedition! The engineer was pacing back and forth in his workshop in panic. His brain was in overdrive now, trying to come up with fast, viable ways to make sure Nigel and Hazel didn't end up "extra crispy".

"Okay Marcus. Think, think, think, think, THINK! The kid and your reckless boss is facing a city sized rock falling from space, you have to build an extremely complex piece of equipment that takes a team to put together, and you have to build it in the 'valley' sector of the park which is…"

He paused to glance at a Prehistoric Park map hanging at an angle on his wall, double-checking his location's distance to the valley plains.

"Yup! Clear on the other side of the park! And I have to do this all in less than an hour or else my friends are gonna have to wait until some paleontologist digs up their remains!"

He looked around his disaster of a workshop, trying to see if the answer to his problems were hidden in his clutter. His manic searching was put to a stop when his eyes fell upon the nearly repaired mobile Time-Pole. His eyes widened as he quickly picked up the little device. He found his answer!

"YES! OF COURSE! If I can rearrange this T-pole's transmitter and make it a receiver, I can have that sucker up and running in fifteen-minutes!" Marcus looked up at the clock and his heart skipped a beat.

It was already 6:14 a.m.

Cursing himself for not being hasty, Marcus gathered the needed tools to make the conversion and placed them on his ever-present tool belt, and ran out to his ATV. He secured his tools and equipment in the vehicle's storage compartment as he quickly straddled the quad-cycle and put his goggles on his face once more. He'll have to convert the Time-pole at the Valley, he had very little to waste.

"I can't believe I signed on for this crap."

After the last self-barb to himself, Marcus ignited his bike's engine and zoomed off. Speeding towards his destination, hoping that he could save his friends in time.

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The Nesting Grounds, 65 million years ago

40 minutes until The End…

Back in the Nesting Grounds, everything was in chaos. The flaming rocks continued to fall onto the once peaceful valley. What was now a land of greenery had now become what seemed like a war zone. Hazel and Flia swerved from side to side as they flew over the valley, avoiding each and every mini-asteroid that sped towards them.

Below them, countless dinosaurs frantically ran all over the place, desperately trying to avoid the incoming space missiles. The scouts descended lower to relay their messages out.

"Everyone get out of here!" Flia called out to them.

"Hurry! To the caves!" Hazel seconded as they made a U-turn once they reached the furthest forest edge of the valley.

A few feet from them, a certain green-scaled _Iguanodon_ was dodging each and every missile that came at him. Countless other herd members rushed passed him, desperately trying to escape the coming disaster. Smoke started billowing out of the flames the fire rocks left on the ground. The lush green pastures had turned into a burning wasteland.

When the scouts were near, he stopped and looked up. With a holler, he called them down to his level. Flia descended so that she was closer to him, yet she kept flapping her wings so that she would remain airborne. Hazel peered over her friend's shoulder so that she could get a good look at the stubborn _Iguanodon_.

"What is the meaning of this?" he growled at the scouts.

"Nero, you have to get to the other side of the valley with the others! A Fireball is coming!" Hazel warned him.

The news hit him like a rock to the face. A Fireball, coming here? The last one was hard enough but a second?

He shook his head in denial. "Impossible! How can there be a second one!?"

"Nero, you have to believe us," Flia told him urgently. "If you remain here, then you will surely die!"

"So we are fleeing for our lives over another damned Fireball? Why do that when we can remain here? The valley survived the first one. This one will be no different!"

"You idiot!" Hazel screamed at him. "Just look around you! Can't you see what's happening!? The debris that's coming down now is the precursor to the impact! If you stay here any longer, then you'll be barbecued to death! In less than 45 minutes, that flaming rock will break through our atmosphere and fry everything!"

Nero eyed her suspiciously. This human seems to have extensive knowledge of the Fireball. He had heard that she and her kind were not from this time, yet how did they know about what will happen? The more he pondered on it, the more he demanded answers.

"How do you know about this?" he ordered her. Unfortunately, by the time he asked that question, the scouts had already flown off towards the main part of the valley.

Then, a thought occurred to the burly dinosaur. He had heard that this Hazel was from another time period, or to be accurate, the distant future. If she is from the distant future, then she would already know what would happen. His thoughts had also brought him back to the previous night, when she and her other human friend were speaking about a "meteor" and "a new world". The realization startled him, and made him even angrier.

"She knew…she and that other human knew this whole time!" he growled and then made a run for the cave.

Fury and rage now pent up inside of him, Nero was intent on destroying her for endangering the herd. But not until he escaped this disaster. Their destruction can wait. Right now, escape was his priority. His revenge would have to be put on hold.

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The Present, 6:30 a.m. / 30 minutes before The End….

Bob and Suzanne were carpooling with each other in a standard park jeep to go to their intended destinations. Bob was going to tend to the Therizeinosaurs' needs and Suzanne was going to look after the orphaned _Protoceratopses_ for the day. So naturally, they shared a car to get to where they needed to be.

The soft shades of blue were just about to brighten up in the sky, the temperature was warm, and the sun was about to come up in the horizon. The clouds above appeared dark, but that was because it was dawn.

As they were driving by the Titanosaur enclosure, a red-orange blur sped past them going in the opposite direction. Both Bob and the rider had to swerve to avoid crashing into each other. Bob and Suzanne's jeep stopped immediately on the side of the road. They witnessed the now identifiable ATV was still speeding away at a blistering pace. The two barely heard the fleeting voice of the rider call out to them.

"Morning Bob! Morning Suzanne! Can't talk, going to save Nigel and Hazel's life…"

The two startled senior keepers kept their eyes glued on the retreating ride as their minds tried to process what the heck happened. After a few moments, Suzanne broke the silence.

"Was that Marcus just now?"

"Yup." Her aged colleague replied.

"He was heading down to the valley, wasn't he?"

"Uh huh."

Suzanne's eyes widened in panic as she finally processed what the fleeting engineer said.

"Nigel and Hazel are in trouble!"

She turned to the driver of the jeep, urgency now ingrained within her.

"BOB—'!"

"Way ahead of you, Suzy."

As he said that, Bob made a sharp U-turn and quickly followed the engineer's trail toward the Valley.

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Meanwhile, in the forest…65 million years ago

27 minutes until The End

Talin, Alden, Charon, and Tirech ran through the forest, bellowing at the top of their lungs. For the past few minutes, they had been warning the lemurs to run to the caves as per Aladar's orders. It was actually Talin's idea, as he wanted to make sure that everyone got out safely. Besides, the lemurs were his family too, and he wanted to make sure they were safe. His younger brother and his friends came along just because they felt the same way.

If the valley looked like a burning war zone, then the forest was not much better. Fire was consuming everything. The trees that stood as a testament to the valley's beautiful landscape were now bathed in an ever-growing inferno. Plants were falling and trees were collapsing onto the forest bed, making the disaster even worse. Countless animals that lived in the forest ran for their lives, including the lemurs which either quickly jumped away on the ground or swung through the trees.

"Get out of here! A Fireball is coming!" Talin warned them. He jumped over a burning log, which prompted the others to follow suit.

"Move it everybody!" Tirech added.

"Talin! We can't stay here any longer!" Charon gasped as she ran alongside the elder child. "We have to get out of here too!"

The son of Aladar and Neera shook his head rejection. "No! Not until we warn everyone!"

As much as he wanted to go against his friend's advice, she was bringing up a valid point. The fire is spreading at a faster rate and if they did not get out of there now, then they too would be a part of the burning land.

Suddenly, a flaming rock missile collided with a tree off to their right. The large nature pillar groaned as new flames licked up from the new crater at its base. The tree swayed and began to fall directly above the children.

They screamed at the falling object and rushed forwards, only to narrowly dodge that possible death. The tree slammed into the ground and stray embers from a small fire patch sprayed up into the air, only to be quickly extinguished. The children continued to run, refusing to stop or even look back.

"Kids!" a female voice hollered from above.

The children stopped and saw a lemur descend from a still intact tree by using the branches like giant steps. With each hop, she got closer and closer to them until she was at their eye level on the lowest branch. Her yellow eyes, mostly white fur, and brown patches had given her identity away instantly.

"Plio! Are you okay?" Talin asked his adopted grandmother.

"Yes I'm fine. Most of the clan has escaped the forest. I saw everything at the top of the trees. Everyone is running towards the cave. What's happening?" she questioned him with worry.

"Plio a Fireball is coming!" Alden squeaked as he pushed in between his brother and the female _Parasaurolophus_.

"What!? A Fireball!?" she exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

Tirech nodded. "Yeah! Aladar is telling everyone to make for the caves! And I think I heard that Nigel guy say that he's going to get everyone out somehow!"

"Kids!" an elderly voice called out to them from nearby. They all looked down to their left and saw four more lemurs hop towards them. Their eyes widened when they saw that it was Yar, Suri, Zini, and his new girlfriend Aya.

"What are you doing here!?" Yar yelled at them.

"We're warning everyone!" Charon explained to him.

"Dad, we have to go now!" Plio told her father. "A Fireball is coming!"

"What!?" the other lemurs screamed.

"There's no time! Make for the caves!" the matriarch ordered.

She did not have to tell them twice. The group rushed away from the flames that were closing in on them and made for the edge of the forest. The children and lemurs dodged countless obstacles ranging from flaming rocks, falling trees, and wild fire patches. The kids knew nothing about what it was like to be in something like this, but the lemurs did. They went through this last year, when they were escaping their burning home from the first Fireball. In their minds, they were thinking of that fateful day when they had to evacuate the land of their ancestors. That island was the only thing they had ever known. Now, they were losing their new home as well.

Just then, another flaming missile collided into a nearby tree, causing it to fall. The group was already in a deep ditch that was surrounded by that same group of trees. There were a couple of open spaces at the top of the rock and mud walls, but they were too high for them to climb. They watched in horror as the immense tree fell in front of them with a crash, blocking their only way out of the ditch. The object was pretty thick, meaning that it would be too difficult to try to lift up unless you were as big as Baylene.

The group turned around in an attempt to get out of the ditch, but when they did, they saw that more burning tree limbs fell at the very end. The lemurs could escape due to their dexterity, but the children could not. Salvation was over a hundred feet before them, but they were too late in reaching it.

"Oh no we're trapped!" Tirech cried.

"Thanks Mr. Obvious for telling us that!" Charon sarcastically remarked.

"Talin what do we do?" Alden tearfully asked his brother, who was shaking in fear next to him.

"I…I don't know!"

"Hang on kids! We'll get help!" Zini reassured them and climbed up one of the trees. When he did that, the other lemurs followed, leaving the stranded younglings in the ditch.

It did not take them very long to reach the top. When they went passed the leafy layer, they saw mass chaos everywhere. Flaming rocks were falling from the darkened skies. Dinosaurs were sprinting from all parts of the valley towards the cave. If any one of them bothered to look even more closely, they could see smaller shapes following close behind the dinosaurs coming from the forest. The other lemurs had the courage to go out into the prehistoric wasteland at the risk of getting burned or stepped on just to escape.

Then, they heard a screech and saw Flia fly over the forest. Thankfully, she was close enough for them to call out to her. The _Pteranodon_ slowed her glide over the forest and approached to where they were. When she did, she hovered close to that tree and spoke to the lemurs.

"Guys, what are you doing here!? You have to get out now!"

"We know!" Aya replied. "But the children are trapped! They can't get out!"

"Oh no…" Hazel whispered. Her fears of everyone not making it out of the meteor's impact escalated. But she came too far to give up now. Determined to rescue them, she pushed herself forward until she was close to Flia and at the lemurs.

"All of you, get on Flia! NOW!" she told them.

"But what about-?" Suri asked in surprise when she thought that they would leave the kids to die.

"Tell them I'm coming! Flia, get the lemurs to the cave and get help!" Hazel ordered her friend.

"Are you sure?" the _Pteranodon_ questioned over the roar of the flames.

"Do it!" the human blurted out.

One by one, the lemurs climbed on to the pterosaur's leg and then to where Hazel was on the saddle. The last one to leave was Plio, who went back down to warn the children that Hazel was on her way. Once that was done, the matriarch boarded the flyer and the group flew over the forest. At the forest edge, Flia descended until she was low enough for Hazel to disembark. The human jumped off and landed with a roll.

"Go! I'll be fine!" was the last thing she said before running into the forest of flames.

Her friends gave her one last look before departing in the opposite direction. As they kept going, they thought about whether Hazel and the children would survive this. Or if they themselves would make it out of this mess alive. They would need a miracle to escape the Fireball's destructive blast. Little did they know that the miracle came in the form of a human driving a peculiar vehicle from the distant future.

Nigel was closing in on the cave. Close behind him were countless dinosaurs and lemurs desperately trying to escape the destruction of the valley. On them were a number of burns from the fires and bruises from accidentally bumping into other herd mates.

The man took out his phone and noticed that there was at least 23 minutes left on the clock. He glanced back and saw that the dinosaurs were definitely following him as per Aladar's orders. He threw his phone to the passenger seat then dug out a familiar remote from another one of his pockets. By then, they had already crossed the entrance into the cave.

"Let's hope this works…" he said as he held on to the remote.

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The Present, 6:40 a.m. / 20 minutes until The End

Valley Sector

As Bob and Suzanne's jeep came to a halt in the valley, they both rushed to the young engineer, who was currently cursing and muttering profanities under his breath as he was hastily working on something on the ground. As the two park keepers got closer they could see Marcus fiddling with a mobile time-pole, using his mechanical know-how to pull seemingly random wires and furiously typing various codes on the mini-time machine's activation remote.

"Marcus! What is going on?"

The young man didn't turn to acknowledge the approaching duo, his focus on the conversion of the device in front of him taking top priority.

"Oh you know! Just starting my day with rigging up a complex piece of machinery that I have NO IDEA if it'll work, the results being not activating at all or the park becoming the site of a second _Grand Canyon_. All at the behest of our boss who is currently trying to outrun one of history's most devastating extinction events! And to make sure Nigel and Hazel don't become KFC 'extra crispy', I have to build this thing. RIGHT. NOW! That's what I'm dealing with this morning. How are you~."

Marcus' scathing comeback and stress was evident to the two senior park keepers, as he was busy hammering into place a power core that didn't quite fit into the mobile time-pole. He would show that stubborn piece of scrap metal who's boss! As he was tirelessly working away, Suzanne approached him to offer assistance.

"Is there anything that we can do?"

"No! Just go to the side. And don't touch my tools!" Marcus then paused, reconsidering his answer.

"Scratch that, call all the other park keepers. From what Nigel told me, there is going to be a LOT of new guests coming soon."

Nodding in agreement, both Suzanne and Bob used their walkie-talkies to muster as many park keepers as they can. While they were doing this, Marcus attached one final wire on the time machine.

"I DID IT!" The engineer exclaimed, swiftly putting the casing on the machine to finalize his work. Now, all he had to do was pray to God that the thing wouldn't explode.

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At the same time...

Both Nigel and Marcus thumbed the activation remote on their respective time machines. With one final breath, they both pressed the button.

"This is gonna be close!" they said at the same time.

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The Present, 6:42 a.m. / 18 minutes until The End

Valley Sector

As soon as Marcus activated the hastily assembled time poles, the device immediately syncing with Nigel's activation of his device, a time rift tore open. The portal then spat out a zooming jeep, with Marcus' boss in the driver's seat, followed by a MASSIVE herd of panicked dinosaurs. They were all bellowing, fear clearly felt in their voices, as they all tried to escape the terrors on the other side of the portal. Each and every creature coming through the portal were pushing and shoving each other to be furthest away from the dangers of the Cretaceous' extinction event. As the animals shot out of the prehistoric rift, they had also brought along ash and smoke, evidence of the meteor's destructive blaze. The burning smoke billowed out along the sides of the portal as the herd kept running. They were all covered in slight burns and soot, souvenirs of their harrowing experience.

Bob, Suzanne, and the engineer all gawked at the sudden influx of new residents that Nigel had brought back.

" _This_ is what Nigel wanted to bring back! A herd with a myriad of dinosaurs?!" Suzanne exclaimed.

The man told Suzanne his ambition before, but she never thought that Nigel would actually rescue a herd with so many different species. She shouldn't have been surprised; the man has brought back to the present MANY unexpected things before. She remembered that most of the residents of the park were results of Nigel bring back unintended "hitchhikers".

Bob just shook his head in amazement.

"I thought he was referring to 10 dinosaurs, not 200! I hope Nigel doesn't expect me to look after this bunch," nodding his head to the panicked herd.

"I already babysit the Titanosaurs! I certainly don't need the extra work."

"Holy... shit," Marcus uttered as he was stunned at the sight.

The engineer was just staring at the seemingly endless amount of dinosaurs that kept pouring out of the time rift. Then, the portal grew in height in order to compensate for the massive _Brachiosaurus_ that lumbered through. He could hear the titanic creature cough and hack its enormous lungs in an effort to clear the ash that it inhaled. Next to the immense sauropod was a lumbering _Styracosaurus_. Unlike the other _Styracosaurus_ he saw, this one was stout and had wrinkles all over its body. The horns on its frill and nose were dull, signifying its old age.

As he was watching, he groaned in realization. Now he would have to erect a new perimeter barrier for the unexpected residents. Not only that, his prior fears for the park's stability grew as more dinosaurs kept coming through the rift. His heart dropped.

' _Could this get any worse?'_

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Prehistoric Park, 6:44 a.m. / 16 minutes until The End…

Valley Sector

"This feels familiar." Nigel said, feeling slight nostalgia of once again "running for his life" from prehistoric danger.

As the two senior keepers and engineer watched the enormous group of dinosaurs from the sidelines, Nigel was trying his best to keep in front of the herd. He was just barely able to keep in front of the group, but they were surprisingly agile for their size. Their fear of the prehistoric inferno was apparently directed straight to their legs, as they were able to match the jeep's maximum speed. He couldn't keep driving forward forever though. The reserved land for the herd, while spacious, was limited. He had to get the herd to calm down and insure they don't break into the other enclosures. Nigel spotted a large field located near a watering hole. It was far enough away from the portal to have the dinosaurs regroup without crowding each other, yet close enough double back to make sure all of the animals made it through safely. That area was perfect for the herd to gather as they came through the portal. Now all he had to do was find a way to lead them there. Looking to his left, he spotted a _Parasaurolophus_ keeping pace with his speeding jeep. He called out to the hadrosaur after honking his horn to get its attention.

"Oi! Mate!"

The herbivore quickly shifted its eyes to him and grunted in surprise, just now realizing he was sprinting next to the vehicle. Nigel remembered that Hazel told him the prehistoric creatures could understand English. While that amazed him, he swiftly put his curiosity aside for a later date to focus on the task at hand.

"I need you to help me direct the herd to turn towards the valley and slow down! We're safe from the Meteo-I mean 'Fireball' here. Think you can help me out?"

Nigel hoped that the "Duckbill" wouldn't brush him off. Fortunately, the hadrosaur believed him and nodded in confirmation.

The _Parasaurolophus_ released several honks to his herd-mates. Answering his call were other _Parasaurolophus_ , relaying the first's message to nearby members of the herd, as Nigel promptly took temporary lead of the herd. He turned his vehicle toward the plain lands and decelerated, with the Herd also following suit. As soon as he led the Herd to the large field situated in the valley he gradually slowed to a stop. With his decrease of speed, the herd members took this as a sign that they were safe and in the clear as they start to slow down as well.

Many of the herd members were panting, trying to catch their breath from escaping the terrifying disaster. Some had violent coughing fits trying to clear their lungs from inhaling so much soot, a result from the blaze kicking up ash from their former home's jungle. However, the most common act in the herd at the moment was crying. Nigel could feel the sorrow radiating off the herd members as he saw an _Iguanodon_ and _Styracosaurus_ shedding tears from their eyes, the liquid cutting though their ashen faces and making streaked rivers on them.

Nigel look back at the portal in the distance, dinosaurs still rushing out to safety, and began to worry. Hazel was still in the past, so that meant that the rescue wasn't finished yet. Starting his jeep up again, Nigel drove his vehicle back towards to portal to make sure the young woman made it home safely.

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The Nesting Grounds, 65 million years ago

14 minutes until The End

Back in the Nesting Grounds, things there have gone from bad to worse. The flames in the valley have expanded and burned a large fraction of the vegetation. The herd members continued to pour in to the cave towards the safety of the portal. Most of them sustained burns from the fires, however they were not severe. The air was getting worse by the minute from the increased amount of ash and smoke.

Aladar rushed back and forth between the entrance of the cave and to the portal to make sure that everyone made it through. He and Neera had already made sure that their daughters, Url, Baylene, and Eema went on to join the others in the mysterious time rift. Most of the herd had already made it through. All they needed to do was to get the stragglers to the other side. Unfortunately, a number of their friends and their two sons were left unaccounted for, which worried the alphas greatly.

Just then, Flia came flying into the cave and hovered over what was left of the frantic herd. The alphas saw her and proceeded to get a little closer to her by getting to the front of the cave and off to the right. The pterosaur saw that and landed in that same area. In no time, she was looking up at the exhausted leaders of the herd.

"Flia, where are Plio and the others?" Aladar asked her. Even though he saw a number of lemurs get through the portal, he did not see his adopted family anywhere.

The _Pteranodon_ was about to answer that when said lemurs appeared from her back. They had been hanging on to the rope part of Hazel's saddle the entire time since they escaped the forest. Seeing his family with the scout slightly relieved Aladar.

"We're fine," Plio told him. "But Talin, Alden, and their friends are in danger! They're trapped in the forest!"

"And Hazel's with them!" Zini added to his sister's plea.

Hearing that made the _Iguanodons_ even more worried. The forest was clear on the other side of the cave. Getting there normally does not take too long, but the flames burning the land just made things even more difficult.

"Oh no…" Neera said tearfully. "We have to get over there!"

"No!" Aladar rebuked and then stared at his mate. "I'll go! You stay here and make sure that everyone gets through. I'll bring Hazel and the kids back here before the Fireball destroys the valley."

"But-!" she was about to argue but was then interrupted.

"Go Neera! I'll be fine!"

Neera's worried eyes met Aladar's determined ones. Not only was she worried about her friends' and her sons' safety, but now she has become worried for her mate's. The two shared an intimate moment in the form of craning their necks over each other, just like they did back when they defeated the Carnotaur.

"Be careful…" she told him and then backed away.

"I will. Now go! All of you!"

With that said, both alphas went in opposite directions to perform the tasks before them. The lemurs hung on to Flia as she took off to get into the cave. Like Aladar and Neera, they too feared for their friends' safety. Deep down, they prayed that they would all make it out of this alive.

Right when Aladar was just a few feet away from the cave, a tremor coursed through the earth, causing him to lose his footing. He grunted as he hit the ground hard and was stunned for a moment. The _Iguanodon_ did not pay any mind as to why and how that happened. All he cared about now was rescuing the rest of his family. He quickly recovered and sprinted towards the burning forest.

If he had bothered to look up while he was running away from the cave, he would be able to see a large flaming comet streak over the sky towards the distant horizon in the west. He would have had to look back just to see a small hint of it, as it was thousands of miles away.

Meanwhile, somewhere in what will be called Central America, that same asteroid had collided onto a portion of the future Yucatan Peninsula. The impact was enough to create a wave of fire and ash. The sound and power of the impact were the equivalent of 240,000 megatons of TNT. To make matters worse, the cloud of superheated ash and dust traveled faster than the speed of sound.

The end was now upon them, and they only had a few minutes to escape…

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Meanwhile, in the forest…

Hazel was not having a good time. Trying to stay low to the ground just to have oxygen while avoiding obstacles like logs, flaming rocks, and burning infernos was extremely difficult. Not only that, but just moments ago, she had lost her footing from that surprise earth tremor. Her timer went off on her phone, and when she took it out to gaze upon it, she saw that the timer had hit 0. However, she knew that it would take less than 15 minutes for it to reach the valley. Turning off her phone and putting it into her pocket, she made her way deeper into the forest.

"Kids!" she called out and then let out a loud cough. "Kids where are you!?"

Hazel jumped over a couple of rocks while using one of her arms as momentum. She landed with a grunt and ran forward before calling out again.

"KIDS!" she screamed in a much louder tone.

"Hazel!?" the voice of Talin echoed from towards the left of her. "That you!?"

"Talin!?" Hazel yelled back.

"Hazel we're over here!" Charon went next.

"Please help us!" Alden pleaded.

The girl ran in that direction while jumping over various fire-patches and rocks. It did not take her very long to reach the very ditch that contained the children. She coughed and peered through the smoke and the partially burning vegetation. Hazel let out a relieved sigh when she saw the unharmed, yet very scared, children.

"I'm here! Are you okay?" she asked them.

"We're fine! But we're stuck! We can't get out!" Tirech explained. "The walls are too steep for us!"

"Don't worry! I'll get you out!" she reassured them.

Hazel looked around to see if there really was anything to help them out. If she had some rope, then she could just ask one of them to grab on to it so that she could pull them up. Unfortunately, she did not have any.

"Okay…think, think, think!" she muttered as she frantically searched around for anything that could help.

The opportunity came to her in the form of a nearby burning tree. The trunk was not that thick, and the fire where stray rock debris made its mark had taken out a good chunk of it. However, it was still standing. The tree was also fairly small, but it was the right size for it to fit in the ditch. Hazel nodded and quickly went to that very tree that was only a few feet away. If she could try to cut that tree down, then it could be used as a makeshift ramp for the kids.

Thankfully, she had her father's dagger with her. She unsheathed the blade and stared at it and the tree. Not counting the hilt, the blade itself was almost a foot long. The tree trunk was about 15 inches, and the celestial missile did knock out a good 3 inches, but it would still be a lot of work. Pulling the neckline of her shirt to cover her nose, she began to chip away at the wood.

With each swing of her sword, a small amount of the tree was chipped away. She let out yells as she did so with each swing. The muffled hacking of the wood got louder with each stronger swing. However, she was doing so at a fast rate, which was draining her energy fast. Not only that, but there were times when her skin would meet the burning wood or some stray flames. She would scream in agony for a moment, but that did not stop her.

Within a minute, she was exhausted. Hazel observed her handiwork and saw that she only hacked away about 2 inches of the trunk. She got to the weak side of the tree and tried to push it, but nothing happened. Even if she was at her full strength, she was not strong enough to push a whole tree down.

Even though the tree would not go down, she refused to give up. As she pushed on that trunk, she was brought back to the day when her friends were breaking through the cave wall after their run-in with those two Carnotaurs. Aladar felt defeated when he failed at bringing the rock wall down. She and Baylene had helped him get back to his feet with their words of wisdom…and mentally slapping him.

But she did not have friends now. She was the only one there to try to help the children. Tears started to form in her eyes as she began to think she had failed.

"Oh God no…" she breathed out in defeat.

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Back in the present… 6:50 a.m. / 10 minutes until The End…

Valley Sector

Flia had no idea what to think when she flew into the portal. A ball of emotions were going through her mind from the narrow escape they had just made. Instead of going deeper into the cave, the scenery had changed into a beautiful landscape with clear skies and clean air. The _Pteranodon_ soared over the hill until she caught sight of a couple of familiar faces at the base of the hill. She lowered herself and made her descent.

The lemurs were just as amazed as the aerial scout. How did they get here? Where was the cave? Or more importantly, where were they? All of those questions went through their minds as they tried to process the new information.

Flia slowed her descent and gracefully landed before the elderly women, ankylosaur, and alpha female _Iguanodon_. The lemurs disembarked off of the pterosaur. The loss of the weight on her back allowed Flia to roll her shoulders and flex her wings before folding them to walk on her hands.

"Is everyone all right?" she asked them all.

"Filthy, but adequate," Baylene responded after lowering her head down to their level.

"Just peachy…" Eema went next.

"Neera, the herd?" Flia asked the secondary alpha.

The dinosaur let out a sigh. "They're fine. But I'm more worried about Aladar, my two boys, and Hazel…"

The elder _Styracosaurus_ gasped. "Wait, they haven't made it through?"

Flia shook her head no. She was about to respond to that when Plio had beaten her to it.

"Aladar is still back there, trying to rescue the kids," she explained, worry still in her voice.

"I'm going back there," Neera said aloud. "I have to make sure they make it out okay."

"Neera no!" Yar retorted at his daughter-in-law's command. "It's too dangerous!"

"Do you have any better ideas!?" she argued angrily. "Our loved ones are trapped on the other side!"

Her sudden remark scared the elder lemur, causing him to nearly fall on his back. He was about to argue back when something zoomed passed them and up the hill. The strange object rolled upwards quickly until it disappeared from view. They did not need to look twice at who was driving it. A certain man wearing a blue shirt and a gray vest was the driver.

The group watched the top of the hill, hoping and praying that everything would be okay.

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The Nesting Grounds…65 million years ago

8 minutes until The End…

Aladar dodged the incoming debris as he ran towards the burning forest. The flames had kicked up even more, which made it much worse. The smoke was even thicker and ash was more prevalent in the air. Every now and then, the _Iguanodon_ would have coughing fits while trying to get to the desired destination. His eyes would burn from the ash getting into his eyes. But he could not stop now. He can't give up.

As he breached the edge of the forest, walls of flames and smoke met him. He traversed around the fire and maneuvered through each ditch, fallen tree, and fire. Once he got over a pile of fallen trees, however, one of the trees on fire began to sway. He heard the sounds of wood creaking and looked to his right.

His eyes widened in shock as one of the burning trees fell down. He tried to get out of the way in time, but the obstacles on the forest floor prevented him from doing so. The tree crashed on him, and he let out a scream.

The fire on the large plant had made contact with his blue-green hide. He screamed in agony as the flames licked his back and the splinters from the wood pierced him. Thankfully, the tree wasn't that big, as they were the same size as the trees he usually saw on the island he grew up in. But he was trapped.

The tree was heavy, but that did not stop him. With every ounce of his strength, he got up and shook the tree off of him. The massive plant landed behind him with a crash and caused some embers on a part of the forest floor to go up.

Aladar groaned and swayed on his feet. He let out violent coughs as more ash and smoke got into his lungs. He opened his eyes and saw that his vision was starting to get blurry. The flames in the forest were weakening him, and he must find his friends quickly.

"Talin!" he called out after jumping over some flames and ran deeper into the woods.

"Alden! Hazel! Where are you!?"

A few seconds passed and he got a reply. The sound was faint at first due to the roar of the flames, but when he listened a little more closely, he could tell that it was Hazel calling out to him just to the west of his position.

"Aladar! We're over here!" was what he heard.

"Hazel!? Is that you!?" he hollered back and turned towards that direction. When he did, he rushed towards the place where the human and children were.

"Kids! Aladar's coming!" she yelled again.

"Dad!?" he heard Talin say in a relieving tone. "Dad help us!"

"Daddy I'm scared!" Alden went next.

"Don't worry kids!" their father reassured them as he jumped over a small ditch.

When he hopped over a small wall of rocks, he saw Hazel trying to push a tree down into a larger and deeper ditch. He went over there and saw his sons and their friends trapped there, cowering in fear.

"Aladar it's you!" Charon grinned at the sight of the benevolent herd leader.

"Hang on! We'll get you out!"

"Aladar! Help me push this down!" Hazel yelled at him offhandedly as she strained on the large tree trunk.

Aladar rushed over to his friend and reared on his hind legs. He then leaned forward and used his front hooves to push the tree down. The burning vegetation quickly gave way and landed into the ditch below. The fallen object surprised the children trapped, but they quickly used it as their ticket out. One by one, they traversed it until they were reunited with Aladar.

The adult got down onto all fours and observed the children and human for a moment. Other than a few cuts and bruises, they were unharmed. Relieved that they were okay, he went down on his stomach and urged the human to mount him. Hazel obeyed and got onto his back. But not before noticing the new blackened patches of third degree burns on his back. She let out a gasp, but there was no time to try and fix him now. She took care as to not touch the areas and adjusted herself so that she wasn't anywhere near them.

"Let's go!" Aladar ordered and rushed towards the edge of the forest. The children followed close behind him.

Together, they maneuvered around the forest obstacles and within a matter of minutes, made it out of the now infernal tree line. As they made their way across the burning landscape, they could see out in the distance a giant, ever-growing, cloud of fire and ash coming towards them.

The children screamed at the sight of that thing and got more frightened. Even Hazel did for a moment and felt that same fear. Out of all the situations she had been in during her travels into the past, this one took the cake for the most life threatening. Never before had she faced the destruction of a meteor during her adventures with Nigel, all because he had never brought her to a time like this before.

She squinted into the distance and saw a familiar rippling portal in the cave. Her eyes widened and looked at the children and at Aladar.

"Hurry! Get to the portal!"

They did not need to be told twice. With the appearance of the death cloud, the fear had been pumped right into their legs, pushing them to go much faster. The cloud closed in on them with only 2 minutes left before it reached them.

" _Come on…come on!"_ she thought loudly.

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Back at the park…6:58 a.m. / 2 minutes until The End

Valley Sector

Suzanne, Marcus, and Bob did not know what to make of the situation. Sure, they were surprised at the amount of new residents coming in. But the thing that surprised them the most was the sudden appearance of small primates going through the portal along with the dinosaurs. The staff members gawked at the amount of primates coming in.

"Wait…are those monkeys?" Bob blurted out in confusion.

"Lemurs," Suzanne corrected as she noted the long tail that the species always had along with the distinct facial structure. "But…how did they get here? Where did Nigel and Hazel find them?"

"Or on another matter," she added. "Where did they find that _Brachiosaurus_? They only survived until at least the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous range!"

"No time to think about that!" Marcus told them as he made his way towards one of the time poles.

They were about to object at the man's order when they suddenly heard the screech of tires. Nigel had just skidded to a stop next to the portal. From what Nigel could tell form the lack of new guests pouring in, most of the inhabitants in the ancient valley had made it safely through.

The other park keepers that arrived were tending to the wounded animals at the valley sector that recently arrived. Nigel quickly got out of his jeep and stood before the portal. His worries of his young partner not making it out in time just got slightly sated when he saw her riding on Aladar. Next to them were the children he saw before, staying close to the adult.

"There they are!" he pointed out, which caused everyone to stare into the portal. Although most of them did not dare stand directly in front, Nigel was the only one who had the guts to.

"Come on Hazel…come on!" Nigel urged as he watched them get closer.

"Nigel!" Marcus called out to him as he tried to open up one of the time poles' coverlid on the side. "The blast wave is getting closer! We'll be caught in the blast in less than a minute unless we close the portal!"

The man furiously glared at the young engineer at the pole on the right. "Are you mad!? Hazel is still in there!"

"I know! Shutting it down now will give them at least a few seconds to get through!"

Nigel shook his head and looked at the portal again. "No keep it open! Do not do anything until all of them get through!"

Marcus let out a frustrated groan. He anxiously waited for the last remaining dinosaurs and Hazel to make it through the portal. Adrenaline pumped feverishly through his whole body on the fear of them not making it through in time or the whole park catching on fire.

"Come on Hazel! You're almost there!" he yelled out in frustration.

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Nesting Grounds…65 million years ago

30 seconds until The End…

The portal was just a few feet from them. But at the same time, so was the wave of death. The cave would not protect them from the blast; it would just follow them through the hole.

The dinosaurs managed to run up the hill and into the cave just as the cloud climbed over the mountains. Once they got inside, the burning wave made contact with the ground and chased after them.

Hazel looked back and saw the meteor's burning reach just mere feet away. She screamed at the sight and closed her eyes, not wanting to see it any more.

But right when she did, she felt the familiar rippling sensation go through her body. Hazel did not need to open her eyes to see what had happened. She knew that they had made it through.

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Back in Prehistoric Park…7:00 a.m.

Valley Sector

Nigel let out a cheer as the dinosaurs and Hazel made it out of the burning valley and into the safety of the 21st century. Bob and Suzanne did the same and even hugged each other. The dinosaurs were safe, and so was the young woman they had grown to call part of their family.

But the problem was not over. Right when he moved out of the way, he had caught sight of the meteor's blast wave. He quickly turned to his engineer, fear apparent on his eyes.

"Marcus, close the portal!"

The man frantically tried to open up the consoles within that time pole, but he could not as the bolts were locked in tightly. Not even with his screwdriver. He let out a yell of frustration at his failed attempts.

Nearby, Aladar skidded to a stop and looked back at the portal. The blast wave was almost upon them. The children had managed to get to the bottom of the hill, meaning that they were safe. The dinosaur and human soon realized that stopping was a costly mistake. The raging infernal blast wave broke through the portal and came barreling towards the duo.

Nigel watched in horror as the two became engulfed in the blast. "Hazel! Aladar!"

Marcus looked back at the time pole and grabbed the hammer that was just within arm's reach. He swung it off to the side and prepared to shut it off the only way he could.

"Sorry baby," was the only thing he said as he swung the hammer with all his might. The time pole shattered into pieces as a result.

The streaming death cloud became weaker and weaker as the portal became out of sync. Within seconds, the rippling became erratic at the loss of one time pole. Without the second time pole to keep it open, the bridge between the past and present disappeared. The cloud of fire faded until there was only a charred path that led straight to the end of the hill.

The keepers and Nigel slowly opened their eyes and saw a large shape lying on the ground. The dinosaur's back was towards them and his beautiful blue-green scales had sustained even more patches of scorched skin. Smoke wafted up from parts of the wounds as a result of the burning.

Neera and the others had seen the entire event. At the last minute, Hazel had jumped off of Aladar in time, only for him to pull her close to his body. He used himself as a shield from the blast, just to protect the more fragile creature.

The company on both sides rushed to their friends' aid. Nigel got to the front and saw that Hazel was cowering within the _Iguanodon's_ embrace.

The girl slowly opened her eyes when she noticed the sudden drop in temperature. She lifted her head up and saw that the smog of the natural flamethrower was gone. Aladar did the same and looked up into the sky. Instead of seeing dark clouds and falling mini-fireballs, there were white puffy clouds and a cerulean sky.

They had escaped destruction.

"They're alive!" Zini cheered when he got closer to them. He then jumped up in joy and started laughing.

The other lemurs, the children, and Neera helped the leader get up. Aladar winced in pain when he got to his feet. With Aladar now back to them, they embraced him in the natural ways they could.

"Dad we made it!" Talin cheered.

"We're okay!" Suri went next.

"Oh thank goodness…" Neera sighed as she embraced her mate with her neck.

As for Hazel, she was getting her own hero's welcome from a few familiar staff members. Neither of them cared that she had soot on her along with the smell of smoke. Suzanne hugged the girl tightly while Bob gave her a pat on the back. Marcus gave her a head rub with a free hand. All of them were happy that the mission, and the return to the park, was a success.

"Thank God you're okay!" Suzanne breathed out.

"Gave us quite a scare there," Bob told her sternly, but did so in a lighthearted way.

"Heh…sorry. Kind of had my hands full," Hazel exhaled. She was physically and emotionally drained, but she was glad that everything turned out okay.

She then caught sight of Nigel, who had approached the group. Hazel quickly went up to him and hugged him tightly. The man returned the gesture, thankful that they all made it out safely.

"Well done Hazel," was all he said.

"Thanks Nigel. We did it."

But that victory was short-lived. Something nearby let out a weakened groan crashed onto the ground with a thud. The animals that were close to them let out screams and shrieks. The humans turned and were horrified to see the blue-green _Iguanodon_ on the ground.

"Aladar!" Neera screamed when she saw her mate fall.

Hazel and the other humans rushed to the fallen dinosaur to see what had happened. Aladar's breathing had become shallow and his eyes were shut tightly. He gritted his teeth as pain shot through his body. Seeing him like this made them all fear for the worst.

Suzanne immediately grabbed the black walkie-talkie that was on her belt. She pressed the large button on the side and spoke into it.

"Suzanne to the vet's office! Someone bring in one of our trucks! We have a severely injured _Iguanodon_ that needs help immediately!"

 _Oh my God…Aladar no! D: Just when things were starting to look up too… Oh man, this is bad. The herd and the lemurs may be safe, but things aren't looking too good for the herd leader. Hope you guys enjoyed this and stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	10. Death's Door

_AN: Hello readers! Marc Ello and DarkSage coming at you with another addition of Dinosaur: Extinction Lasts Forever! I know that many of you are kinda miffed at the sudden title change, but DarkSage and I thought that a change was necessary to reflect the darker aspects of the story's plot. Speaking of which, I hope you still got some "Feel-i-O's" left from last chapter, 'cause Hazel and friends aren't out of the woods yet (I kinda feel awful that we torment the cast so). Just a warning, we suggest that you have a box of tissues with you. Nevertheless, enjoy the chapter!_ _ **Disclaimer: We don't own Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: The Offering by Tolga Kashif and Simon Hanhart/They're All Gone by James Newton Howard**_

The atmosphere of the park's valley grounds was grim. The light and joyous feeling of surviving the devastating asteroid was absent from the area. Instead, feelings of sadness, worry, and anguish permeated through the air as Neera kept nudging and calling out to her downed mate.

"Aladar! Please get up! _PLEASE_!" The hysterical lavender Iguanodon cried out to the heavily injured Aladar. If the young alpha heard Neera's pleas then he gave no indication of it, as his labored breathing and pained trembling from his scorch wounds was all he was able to do at the moment. The injuries he accumulated over the apocalyptic event were severe and just a twitch of his muscles gave the male another dose of agony. His family and gathered friends stood off to the side, wanting to help their leader, but not knowing how to do that.

Baylene, Eema, and a surprisingly subdued Url bowed their heads in mourning. The two elders knew that injuries like what Aladar sustained were basically a death sentence. No one in their long years alive could recover from such horrible wounds.

They even uttered it softly while the female _Iguanodon_ continued her attempts to get him up, which all the more made her much more worried.

Plio and the rest of her family were also in a loss for words. The matriarch was struggling to remain hopeful as she held her daughter who was letting tears roll down her face freely. Zini and their father were stunned into silence as they saw their adoptive family member in such a state. They too were struggling to comprehend the split second turmoil that happened to Aladar when he returned with Hazel.

Hazel herself was feeling remorse and shame. If she wasn't on Aladar when they were escaping, then he could have easily avoided the lethal blazing winds.

' _But no… He just had to use his body as a shield to protect_ me.'

Her thoughts were one of self-loathing, hating that she had caused the strong _Iguanodon_ to put himself in harms way. Of course, her logical mind told her that this heart-wrenching event was unintentional and had many factors, but her emotions overrode those sensible thoughts. She placed the blame for her friend's condition solely upon herself as she kept watch Neera's pleas to her mate.

In her attempts to help her mate stand, Neera tried to lift him by using the side of her body to help prop up Aladar to get him on his feet. As soon as she made contact with the burnt skin on his torso, a scream of agony tore through him. Neera quickly retreated from her failed attempt to help.

"Oh no! I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The fuchsia dinosaur profusely apologized for causing her already injured love more pain.

Suzanne and the other onsite keepers moved toward the orinthopods to separate them so that the female would not aggravate Aladar's wounds further. They slowly surrounded the two and tried to get Neera to move away so they could prepare the scorched male for transport to the emergency clinic for the larger residents. Neera, in her state of worry and shock, yelled out aggressively towards the good intentioned humans.

"LEAVE! GO AWAY! GET AWAY FROM US!" Neera's voice cracked as she stood over her mate's idle form. The alpha female's sudden aggression had its intended effect, as Suzanne and her group of veterinarians hastily backed away in fear. When they were far enough away, Neera went back to rouse her husband from the ground.

"Nigel, we have to separate the female from the injured _Iguanodon_. She'll only make the injuries the animal received worse if she keeps trying to lift him. If my vets don't sedate the male and prep him for transport, then he may die of shock before we even get him to the operating table." Suzanne informed her colleague who was equally worried.

She watched her assistant Sarah try to bait the fuchsia colored dinosaur away from the downed male with some nearby foliage. Neera promptly bellowed out her warning again and lashed out with her slender, but still very lethal, thumb-claw. Her swipe was wild and luckily didn't reach far enough to harm the young woman. It did, however, violently knock away the offered food from Sarah's hands, as she cried out in fear and backpedaled to get far away from Neera's dangerous spiked appendage. Suzanne was going to tell her team to prepare another sedative to pacify the overprotective female, but was stopped when Hazel slowly left her side.

"Hazel what are you doing? Back away from that dinosaur before you get seriously hurt!"

If the girl heard Suzanne's warnings, she gave no indication. Hazel held her hands out in a calming manner and strode slowly towards the agitated female _Iguanodon_. In Suzanne's eyes, she showed no fear when approaching the seemingly dangerous animal. The head veterinarian tried to move forward to physically drag the girl away, but was held back by Nigel. When she looked back to question him, his eyes gave her a reassuring feel.

"Don't worry. Just watch." Nigel's confidence in Hazel's abilities put the nervous vet at ease as she watched, albeit reluctantly, the young woman's actions.

Hazel approached her panicked friend, who was looking away from the approaching young woman as she once again tried to get Aladar to stand. She placed her hand gently on the orinthopod's shoulder. The still flustered _Iguanodon_ tensed at the sudden contact and turned to roared again, unknowingly, at her friend who was trying to calm her down. Hazel stood her ground and started to _talk_ to the emotional female.

"Easy there. It's Hazel, remember?" She raised her hands in an effort to show that she meant no harm.

To outsiders looking on, it looked like the female dinosaur's eye's lit up in recognition, as it responded is a series of grunts and short bellows. The slender female seemed to be really agitated as it began to pace back and forth while it's barks grew in volume. Hazel, who understood the orinthopod's strife due to her hidden communicator, just nodded and spoke softly.

"I know this looks bad now Neera, and what Baylene and Eema said about injuries like this may be true, but we can help him. The park has a clinic... er… Place to heal Aladar." Hazel's voice was calming the _Iguanodon's_ tirade, which paused its worried paces.

The park employees whispered amongst each other at the scene. Some thought the girl was crazy going up to a clearly over emotional animal. Others assumed this was a technique to get the agitated animal to cope and relax to Hazel's soothing voice. The majority was wondering as to whom Hazel was referring to when she said the names of her prehistoric friends. One of the park keepers was raising his tranq-gun to put the still angry looking female to rest. Marcus saw this and reached over. He pushed the gun down and made a shushing gesture when the antsy zookeeper went to protest.

Hazel ignored all of the whispers spreading around her as she was focused solely on the heartbroken dinosaur in front of her. She gently placed her hands under Neera's chin to make the downtrodden Alpha female to look the human girl in the eyes. Neera made soft groans almost inaudible to those around her except Hazel.

"I promise you that they won't hurt him, but if they don't get Aladar ready now, then it may be too late. Please trust me." The girl consoled the upset female, as the Iguanodon nodded and broke down in tears again.

Hazel hugged her prehistoric friend around her neck, much to the shock of all the humans except for Nigel, and led her off towards the rest of their family and friends who were wait off to the side. Hazel called out to the onsite vets as she was walking with Neera.

"Suzanne, you can prep Aladar for transport now. "

She walked to the odd group of dinosaurs and lemurs with the distraught female, who was shuttering and hiccupping in sadness. The odd group of creatures gathered to seemingly comfort the iguanodon. While the keepers were questioning Hazel's peculiar tactics, Suzanne's vets spurred into action to quickly sedate the injured Aladar and wrap the burns to avoid further damage to the injuries.

As for Nigel, Bob, and Marcus, they decided to head down to where the herd was to assist the other keepers, who were taking inventory on the number of new residents or inspecting their wounds. The head keeper and the engineer went on ahead while Nigel was the only one who remained behind. He looked back for a moment on the group of vets around the injured Aladar. Deep down, he felt a pang of worry at the thought of the leader's state. Nevertheless, this was the 21st century. Their technology should be able to get him back on to his feet in no time.

" _You'll be alright mate,"_ he thought as he witnessed the vets scramble around the _Iguanodon_. _"You're in good hands."_

The park creator turned away and hurried to join the others down at the lake.

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It took the combined efforts of Baylene, Plio, Aya, Flia, and Hazel herself in order to reassure Neera that Aladar would make a recovery.

"A-and you're s-s-sure he'll be ok-kay?" The concerned alpha shakily let out.

"Don't worry Neera. Our medica- I mean 'healing techniques' has come really far over the years." Hazel used terms that the prehistoric group could grasp to put them at ease.

"Besides hun, Aladar won't give up without a fight. And with what Hazel said, I bet he'll be up and about in no time." Eema added in.

Although the elder knew that the extent of Aladar's wounds were fatal, she put all of her faith into Hazel's word, trusting that her people had mastery over healings as potent as the young girl described. Hazel focused on the group before her.

"Plio, can you, Baylene, and Eema make sure the herd is okay? Flia, can you do a quick flight around to check if anyone needs anything? Let me know so I can tell my people what to get them."

She then turned to the young dinosaurs. "Hey kids, can you take Neera to the watering hole to get a drink? She'll need it after today." Both Talin and Plio nodded and went about their tasks.

"Okay, we'll be back shortly," Plio acknowledged.

The lemur matriarch leaped toward Baylene to perch on her massive form. The sauropod and ceratopsian bid the group farewell, as they walked off to check on the herd's wellbeing. Hazel went over to Flia and removed the saddle on her back by undoing the straps. The _Pteranodon_ shook the saddle off, causing it to land with a splat on the grass. She then turned to the human and nodded before taking off to accomplish her given task.

"Come on, Mom. Let's get something to drink." Talin said as he nudged his mother towards the watering hole to get her mind off her mate's current state. As Talin led his group to the edge, Charon looked back to the human girl. Her eyes silently told Hazel that they would do their best to get the alpha female to recover.

Hazel wanted Neera to have the least amount of stress as possible, which meant delegating the tasks of overlooking the Herd's wellbeing in Neera's stead. This whole day was already tiresome; it was hard to believe that the disaster had just happened in the past hour!

Despite all of the heartache that today has thrown at them, it was a victory in Hazel's eyes. Sure the herd had a few burns, Aladar's wounds being the worst of it, but they would all heal with time. The medical technologies of today have made great strides in the healing process, including burn treatments. Hazel let out a breath in relief that she had accomplished her mission. Now all that was left was to get the park's new residents situated and comfortable in their new home.

Finally, the transport truck had arrived. It was a heavy-duty pickup truck that towed a flatbed that would normally hold cars, perfect for transporting the weight of a 3-and-a-half ton _Iguanodon_. The mini-crane that was attached to the flatbed and a type of sling that was more common in the transport of dolphins or whales from the ocean to aquariums. The sling in the crane was specially made to lift an injured creature from the ground with minimal jarring to the injured animal. After the team of veterinarians secured Aladar as best as they could, the crane slowly begun to lift the injured dinosaur to the flatbed for transport. When he was strapped to the vehicle bed, Suzanne and a few of her vets boarded the truck to monitor Aladar's health as they made the trip to the emergency clinic. Just as they were about to drive off to save the alpha male's life, they were stopped by the last being that Hazel wanted to deal with.

In front of the heavy-duty truck was an angered Nero who was glaring at the driver of the vehicle.

"Where do you disgusting primates think you're going?" Nero growled at the driver, who was currently freaked out by the green _Iguanodon_ that looked like he was trying to burn the truck driver where he was with only a glare. The employee turned his head to address Suzanne in the back of the truck, his eyes not leaving the form of the irate dinosaur.

"Um… Dr. McNabb… This thing is looking at me funny." The driver's voice was shaking a bit in fear as the ornithopod remained rooted in place, his bad attitude being clearly understood despite the language barrier. As Nero was stomping forward to the pickup truck, Hazel sprung into action.

"Nero! What the hell are YOU doing?" The small human was storming up to the 30-foot long dinosaur fearlessly, "In case you haven't noticed, the leader of the herd needs medical attention. So we have no time for your bullshit right now!"

Hazel got right into his face, causing the green _Iguanodon_ to back up in surprise at the sudden closeness. She kept stalking forward with her angered expression, Nero backing up accordingly, until his massive form was out of the way of the emergency vehicle. It was apparent that the saying "Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned," was capable to transcend different species. As soon as the dinosaur was out of the truck's way, Hazel waved the truck away to transport her friend to the clinic. Once again, the keepers on scene were giving her peculiar looks on her odd behavior towards the animals. Why does the girl keep _talking_ to the animals as if they could _understand_ her? They thought this as the truck drive finally drove off to get Aladar to the clinic.

Hazel on the other hand, was currently dealing with the object of her frustrations.

"What the hell was that?" Hazel questioning the _Iguanodon's_ ornery action with a scathing glare. Nero, who recovered from the human's surprising outburst of anger, scowled at Hazel.

"I was trying to prevent you filthy humans from harming our leader further." Hazel instantly saw through his guise and rolled her eyes mockingly.

"Oh please! Don't play the 'concern for my alpha' bit. It doesn't suit you. I'd bet you would be happy if Aladar bit the dust. MY people are trying to prevent him from dying!" Nero's disgust evolved into full-blown anger.

"You filthy scum...we all nearly died out there! And it's all because of you!"

Hazel tensed up, as she realized that he might know that she had prior knowledge of the fireball. She quickly schooled her features and gave an outward appearance of annoyance and confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The girl walked off towards the watering hole to check on her friends and to leave Nero behind. Unfortunately, the angered ornithopod chased after the retreating human. He was determined to get his answers from the lying, hairless ape.

"Don't walk away from me! How DARE you even have the gall to lie!"

As they distanced themselves from the broken portal site, their argument was gaining the attention of the herd. They quickly maneuvered out of the way from the bickering pair as they listened in on the conflict. When they reached the shore of the small pond, Hazel was at her wit's end with Nero's constant badgering. She was about to retort and tell him off when she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"What's going on here?" Flia returned from her impromptu mission. She circled back when she saw Nero and her best friend arguing. The sky-scout could practically feel the tension from her cruising altitude.

Hazel, who now realized her confrontation amassed an audience of the herd and remaining vets and park keepers, tried to reassure the _Pteranodon_ that the conflict was of no concern. Even Neera, Baylene, Plio, and the rest of her friends were drawn in to the argument, eager to find out what was happening.

"Nothing. Nero's just speaking nonsense," Hazel said to her friend with a forced smile.

Her attempt to wave off the situation failed as the scarred dinosaur's voice grew loud enough for the herd to hear.

"Nonsense? Do you think I'm that stupid? You may have fooled everyone here, but I saw through your act." His accusation was straining at Hazel's already feeble resolve. She thought that she was done with jerkish dinosaurs after her "spirit journey" with Kron. It seems that karma wouldn't forgive her so easily.

"Act? Hazel, what is he talking about?" The confused pterosaur looked back and forth between her friend and the vocal _Iguanodon_.

The herd wisely kept out of the way as they continued to watch the conflicting pair. The humans however, were perplexed at the herd's actions. They were acting more like a group of neighbors than supposedly ancient animals. What confused them even more was Hazel being in the middle of the conflict. While she was extremely angry at the scarred green _Iguanodon_ , the girl looked more comfortable around the group of prehistoric creatures than the employees. Because of Hazel's communicator, the keepers could only gape as they witnessed the young woman basically yelling her head off at the 4-ton herbivore. Said herbivore was roaring out it's distain as well, as he seemed to dislike the petite human girl. Hazel once again attempted to resolve the conflict with Nero and preserve her relations with the herd.

"Don't listen to him. He's just being a pansy for wanting to become something that he'll never get." Hazel's jab at Nero's ambition made the ornithopod refocus his attention to the confused sky-scout.

"I can't believe YOU haven't even noticed it before." He strode up to the pterosaur and looked her straight in the eye.

"Haven't you ever thought about how your friend here got the information about the Fireball? How she even knew about the exact time it would strike?" His rhetoric was stated in a calm tone that belayed the current situation, as he continued his rant.

"How she knew that it would destroy everything!? SHE is from the future!"

Flia was wide-eyed as she tried to process what the aggressive male was saying. One side of mind told her to ignore what Nero was talking about and chalk it up to him being a jerk. But the other part made her pause. What if he was right? What he was saying made too much sense to be a coincidence.

"Nero! That's enough!" Hazel interjected.

Nigel, who was at the left shore of the lake, clearly heard his apprentice's outburst. He was inspecting a young _Parasaurolophus_ for any extensive burns when he heard that. The man rushed over to the huddled group of dinosaurs, eager to aid the young girl on whatever was happening.

"You KNEW the whole time! And you didn't even bother to tell us!" Nero powered through Hazel's emotional turmoil as he continued his verbal assault.

The herd broke out into murmurs amongst themselves. Was Nero correct in his accusations? Has Hazel lied to them from the very beginning? They were eyeing the human warily now, trying to determine if this was some kind of imposter. They knew of Hazel. She helped the herd get to the Nesting Grounds. She surely can't be a liar, right?

Hazel's eyes burned with angry tears as she clenched her fists in rage. It was so hard that her fingernails started to dig into her palms; blood dribbling from her hands. She couldn't believe the dinosaur would stoop so low! He was attacking her through Flia, causing her best friend to doubt her. From the looks of it, Nero's mind games seemed to have their intended result as the _Pteranodon_ had a faraway look in her eyes. Flia focused on the human who might or might _not_ be her "best friend."

"Hazel, is this true? Did you… Did you know about the Fireball? About the valley getting destroyed?" The flyer's voice was barely a heard as she tried to question her frie- the human before her. The shock and despair was evident in her voice as she looked at Hazel. Her haunting gaze was begging— pleading— the human to disprove the sickening thoughts of her friend's betrayal and dishonesty running rampant through the pterosaur's head.

Hazel was rooted in place by her friend's saddened eyes. The young woman lowered her head in shame; no longer being able to greet her partner's pleading eyes. As tears streamed down her face, Hazel only nodded in confirmation to Flia's questions. The flyer could only gasp in shock as her own tears started to well at her friend's apparent betrayal. Flia's sobbing was enough to make Hazel feel a stab of sadness in her heart.

Breaking the anguish was Nero, who continued to berate Hazel, Flia, and the herd as a whole.

"This is all your fault! You pathetic weaklings actually put your trust into someone who knew about our home's destruction the whole time! Our lives are gone because of her!" Nero's words were slowly sinking in, as some herd members gave Hazel an accusing glare as they angrily spoke amongst themselves again. The traveler met all of the herd's scathing glares with her tear-ridden face.

"No that's not true! The valley that you're in right now, it _is_ the Nesting Grounds! It's just in the future! If you all just come with me, I can prove-"

"No! That's enough out of you human!" The _Iguanodon_ cut off Hazel from speaking any further. Hazel's words and thoughts were a mess at the moment, as she tried to get the herd to understand that they were still in the Nesting Grounds but in a different era. Her panicked voice and heartbroken tone came out more as ramblings, making the herd doubt her claims.

"LIAR!" a _Struthiomimus_ shrieked.

"Was any of what you said true?" a male _Parasaurolophus_ blurted out.

"Dude… Not cool!" squeaked a young _Stygimoloch_.

"Who are you?! The real Hazel was a hero! She would _never_ do this to us!" a female _Iguanodon_ protested.

As Hazel was trying to placate the prehistoric angry mob, Flia's tearful voice seemed to break out of the seamless rabble of the others.

"Hazel how could you do this? Why?" The _Pteranodon's_ voice cracked, as she met the human's equally tearful face.

"Because I didn't want to lose you! If I told you, then what's happening now would have happened anyway! Bringing you here, to my time, was the only way to save you from the Fireball. But that meant pulling you away from your home. I didn't return to you just to visit...I came back to save you! All of you! All of this is my fault...I'm sorry… I'm so so sorry..."

Hazel's heart now felt shattered in her chest, as she kept apologizing to Flia through her mournful sobbing. The young human addressed her best friend, and by extension the herd, as she revealed one last, devastating truth to them. Her words were let out in tearful cries as she choked out what she needed to say.

As that happened, Nigel had managed to squeeze in between a _Pachyrhinosaurus_ and a group of _Struthiomimus_. Thankfully, they were more focused on Hazel than his sudden appearance that they didn't mind him. From where he was, he could see and feel the pain that his travel partner was going through. He could also see the burly green-skinned _Iguanodon_ tower just before her. Nigel did not know who he was, but he could clearly see from his facial expression that he was bad news.

Nero was off to the side with a smug grin on his face. He finally revealed the truth to the herd and made the human a pariah.

"And there you have it. The human finally shows her true colors. She is nothing more than a liar and a pest." His condescending voice made something in Hazel snap. She glared at the smug looking dinosaur, fury coursing through her body.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Hazel's anger stemmed from many stressful events leading up to this point. Nero's words were just the last straw to break the camel's back. Hazel's furious glare pierced through everyone who made contact with her. Even the keepers, who were witnessing her apparent mental break, cringed back in fear as she continued ranting towards the green _Iguanodon_.

"Nigel and I have worked our asses off to save you from certain destruction. We made sure that everyone got out safely and provided you with a place to live, and this is how you thank us!? You disgraceful ass-wipe! You're nothing more than a stupid, dickless, compulsive scumbag who wants nothing more than to take Aladar's position!" The young girl exploded at the stunned dinosaur in rage.

In hindsight, that was a bad idea.

Nero, who was also fresh out of mercy, lashed out with his paw. He struck Hazel in the chest with unrestrained force in anger, causing the girl to let out a pained breath as she was sent hurtling through the air. The action was so fast that no one could intercept them in time. Even Flia was horrified to see the human she had once trusted get knocked away from her. The _Pteranodon_ stood there, frozen, and too heartbroken to come to her aid.

The entire left side of Hazel's ribcage gave out from the strike of a 4-ton, extremely temperamental dinosaur. As Hazel was rapidly traveling through the air, she fought through her physical and mental pain to have one last thought to herself.

" _Hazel you fool…"_

Just as she finished her thought, she managed to splash down into the watering hole. If she thought getting a dinosaur to cave in her chest and breaking her arm by skipping on the surface of the small lake was painful, what would come next would be excruciating.

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Nigel watched in horror as his student crashed in to the lake. In all of his years as a zoologist and running Prehistoric Park, not once had he seen a human stand up to a dinosaur like that. And not once had he seen a large animal hurt anyone in that way.

The man hated himself for playing the role as a bystander. He should have just stepped in there and stopped the fight himself. But he knew it would not work. He could not understand anything they would say. That and he would just get hurt in the process. Nigel was at a loss. And Hazel's life was in danger partly because of him.

He had neglected to tell her one important thing about the communicator. He felt that he did not need to because nearly all electronic devices would not be able to withstand water. But with the type of technology used to create the device Hazel has, the consequences would be worse!

"Oh my God…" he let out in shock. Every fiber of his being was now trembling at what just happened. "The communicator!"

Immediately, he ran out of the group of dinosaurs and towards a nearby group of keepers. They had witnessed the whole thing and stood there in shock. The dinosaurs and lemurs they were tending to had run off to that area to see what was happening, but they did not care.

"Someone! Get one of our trucks! Hazel's in trouble!" Nigel pleaded.

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The sun's rays through the water's translucent mirror shined through the surface as Hazel sank into the lake's depths. The cries of the dinosaurs and of the fellow park keepers were nearly muffled at the surface. The small bubbles from her impact into the lake slowly rose up and tickled her very being.

The water felt cold, and at the same time, warm. Wisps of the cool and warm water circled around her, making it so that the actual temperature was somewhere in the middle. But the feel of the water did not matter to Hazel. Her body was numb from the sudden attack Nero did on her.

Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from her ear. A strong electric shock coursed through her head as the communicator she had short-circuited from the contact with the water. The girl shut her eyes tight and her face wrinkled in agony at the new torture she was going through. It felt like every cell in her body was on fire.

Hazel twisted in distress as the electricity shocked her. To make matters worse, her newly broken ribcage and arm added on to her misery. Hazel's body screamed at the sudden contortion. Her brain felt as if it were on a frying pan on a stove set on the highest temperature. She put her hands on her ear in a futile attempt to block the pain.

As her head grew hotter and hotter and her body's condition got even worse with every twist, large bubbles from her mouth and nose left her towards the surface. Hazel's agony was causing her to rapidly lose air.

Her now broken right arm was not cooperating either. With each pained twist, the feeling of a thousand needles on her less-functioning limb struck her being. Her arm waved through the water as she endured her pain.

Hazel's constant screaming could not break through the water barrier. Outside, no one could hear her pained cries for help. The only ones that could hear her were the resident fish that lived in the lake. But even they could not help her. They only swam away from the stranger in their domain.

Finally, after what felt like hours of constant pain, it started to subside. She stopped convulsing from the electrocution and the bursts of agony from her body and drifted limply in the water. With the air almost out of her lungs, she slowly looked up at the surface of the water.

The light from the sun seemed even dimmer than before. She assumed that she was now close to the bottom of the lake. Hazel relaxed as she turned away from the surface. Looking down, she could see the plants at the bottom of the lake gradually get larger. The tallest plants even made contact with her skin, tickling her a little.

Hazel was almost out of air. In her mind, she did not care. She had caused enough pain to the herd. The pain she went through was her punishment. The thoughts of seeing Aladar in his condition, the heartbroken face of Flia, Nero's victorious expression, and the scorn from the herd were enough to break her heart. The idea of drowning now did not worry her. She would rather die than face all of them again.

Just then, a muffled splash erupted from above her. If she had more strength to look back up, she would see the dark shape of a large dinosaur swimming down towards her.

It only took a matter of seconds for the shape to reach the injured human. The being used its mouth to grab on to the floating hood of Hazel's shirt and began to haul her up. Hazel's consciousness was starting to fade from the pain she had gone through and the lack of air, but she could clearly see a faint glimmer of purple scales.

" _Have you ever thought about how they would feel after you save them?"_ Diablo's words echoed through Hazel's mind. His deep, voice sounded more like a growl to her, like a demon whispering in her ear. _"You think they would still accept you as one of their own?"_

The realization pained Hazel's heart as the predator's words stung her. He was speaking the truth from the beginning. He was right the whole time. Hazel slowly closed her eyes and let her tears fall away, which blended in to the water around her.

Neera broke the surface with a gasp. Still holding on to Hazel by her hood, she began to swim backwards to shore. It did not take very long for her feet to touch the banks. When she did, she hurriedly hoisted the nearly unconscious human onto land until they were a considerable distance from the water.

Nigel and a team of other keepers quickly ran over to them to help the injured woman. The other keepers inspected the girl for any outside injuries. When they lifted her shirt halfway, they saw that the left side of her chest area had dark red marks, signaling the worst parts of the injury. Bob and Marcus, who were quickly informed of the situation from the walkie-talkies they had, arrived at the scene. They looked in horror at the sight of Hazel's limp body and feared the worst.

"Hazel!?" Nigel cried out as he used both of his hands to gently press on her chest in an attempt to get her to breath. "Can you hear me!?"

Hazel's response came in the form of a cough and of a pained scream. Water spewed out from her mouth like a small fountain until no more came.

"Sorry Hazel!" he apologized. Although he was relieved to see that she was alive, the extent of her injuries worried him to no end.

Nigel then quickly retrieved the waterlogged communicator from her ear and placed it into his pocket. The device was already broken, so it would not be able to harm him. However, the rest of the keepers had noticed it and wondered if that device had any connection as to how Hazel was able to talk to the animals.

Neera looked on over the humans as they attempted to help the young woman. Plio, her family, Baylene, and Eema even arrived to see the extent of the damage. Sure they felt betrayed by Hazel and had a ball of emotions running through their minds at the truth they had just heard, but what Nero had done was clearly out of line. They looked on with sympathy, even though they were all hurt on the inside.

Hazel opened her eyes at the sound of a familiar voice. Her vision was fuzzy, but could make out the faint form of the alpha female over the other humans tending to her.

"Haz-…are you…can you-?" was all she heard. Neera's voice sounded broken to her ears. It was a mix of words and anguished barks.

None of the humans paid any mind to Neera's presence, or the others for that matter. They were more focused on trying to save the girl's life. As Hazel stared at those around her, she saw that parts of her vision were starting to darken. It first started as a darkened circle on the outside, but then quickly started to get smaller, clouding her vision until it reached Neera.

"What…did you…say?" Hazel muttered. Her sight became shrouded in darkness. She then let out a pained breath from one of the keepers touching a sensitive area on her ribs. The world around her faded away as she slipped into unconsciousness.

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The lone medical truck for Prehistoric Park had arrived within a few minutes. The vehicle looked very much like the usual ambulance trucks from the big city, as it had the same red and white coloring, except that the decal at the hood had the Prehistoric Park insignia. The truck stopped within a few feet from the group of humans with the back towards them.

The doors flung open and four park members streamed out with a gray gurney. Slowly and carefully, Nigel and the others hoisted Hazel up from the ground and onto the carrier. Once she was secured, they wheeled her into the truck and got inside it.

The doors leading into the vehicle closed and the truck drove away, leaving the herd behind. The park was prepared for any medical emergency when it was first built, so they also had a helicopter they could use to get the severely injured away from the place. But there was no hospital. The nearest one was in Johannesburg. It was the closest city to them and the largest in South Africa. Travel there was about four and a half hours by vehicle. But by helicopter, it was a lot shorter.

Nigel borrowed one of the walkie-talkies a keeper had lent to him from earlier and radioed the other staff members. His voice sounded grave and solemn.

"Attention everyone. Hazel's been severely injured. One of the _Iguanodons_ had attacked her. Get the helicopter ready for transport."

When he was done, he pressed a button on the side and placed the device next to him. He then stared at Marcus, who sat at the very end of the ambulance, closest to the front. Sitting next to him was Bob, who was trying to comprehend all that had happened. The engineer's head hung low, a sign of exhaustion and shock of what had occurred within the past hour.

"Marcus," he called out to him.

The man lifted his head up at looked at his boss with tired eyes. "Yes sir?"

"You think you can pilot the chopper to Johannesburg? You're the only one here who can do so at a faster rate."

Marcus gravely nodded. "Of course."

"Nigel?" Bob spoke up. "Is the kid going to be okay?"

Nigel looked back at the young girl with sad eyes. He hoped that they would get to the hospital in time. Hazel's life depended on it. The park creator hoped that the injuries she received did not hit any major organs, or worse, cause any internal bleeding.

But deep down, Nigel knew that she was strong. Hazel had stood up to many dangers before, even now. He held on to the hope that she would pull through.

"I hope so Bob…" was all he uttered.

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Back with the herd, things were not going too well. The dinosaurs questioned amongst themselves about the current situation and the thought of their betrayal. Hazel was the human that had helped them reach the Nesting Grounds, but the news that she had kept the Fireball a secret had caused them to view her differently. Some were angered that she had kept quiet about it the whole time. Others were too emotionally upset about all that had happened today to even think about whether to trust the human or her companions.

Even the children were very confused about the situation. Their minds were torn between feeling sorry for Hazel and feeling frightened towards her.

Neera stood at the edge of the lake and watched the truck with the injured human drive away. The others had already left the area to recuperate somewhere else, leaving her behind.

She had saved her because she was in danger and what Nero had done was wrong. But deep down, she questioned her own action. Hazel was deemed an outsider to the herd for concealing the knowledge of the Fireball. Regardless of what she had done, she still helped everyone get to safety. But the human's revelation and the condition that her mate was in had left the alpha female in confusion and despair.

"Neera!" an overpowering voice broke her trance.

The female looked away and looked to her left to see a furious Nero glaring at her.

"Why did you save the human?" Nero demanded. "Don't you know of what she has done?"

"I'm well aware of what's happened Nero," Neera shot daggers at him. "But what you did was out of line!"

The scarred male let out a huff. "I did what was necessary. She was the reason why we have lost our home, why we have been forced into this strange new world. She and the rest of the humans here knew what would happen. They are not to be trusted."

"Hazel may have kept the Fireball's coming a secret, but she and the humans saved our lives!" she argued.

"That may be…" he sneered. "But do you think they will save our leader's life?"

Neera's eyes widened at the mention of Aladar. The alpha fell into silence as she thought about the fate of her husband at the hands of the humans that had taken him away. True, she had no idea on how they were going to help him. Hazel and Nigel helped the herd escape in time, and they were in a world far unlike their own. She was told that the healers here had techniques that were far potent with dealing with the injuries her mate received, but after what had happened, she started to question whether she should trust them.

"Hazel…" she stammered. "She said…that the humans would save him."

"But do you really think they would keep their word?" Nero forewarned.

Neera wanted to believe that the humans would save Aladar, but after what she was told, she was now starting to have doubts. However, she knew that Nero wanted to have Aladar's position as leader of the herd. Either Nero was telling her this to get her to turn away from the humans and see him as the herd's savior, or he was telling her the harsh reality that he may not make it. Both of which she abhorred strongly.

"Tell me something Nero. Why do you want to become the leader so much?" she asked, eyeing the rival male suspiciously.

"Because I believe that I can lead the herd in the way that it should be. If I were leader, I would lead the herd away from this place; from these…abominable creatures. I will even threaten them to return us to our time, our HOME, if I must," he coolly explained.

"Are you blind to reality!? Our home is destroyed!" Neera protested.

"That does not matter! I will force the humans to return us to our home in its former glory!"

"As an alpha for this herd, I forbid you from doing so!" she commanded. "And you remember the laws of becoming the leader. It has been so for many years. Obtaining that position will only occur directly with the current leader; whether it be through conflict, passing it on, or death. In other words, you have no right to declare yourself as one!"

Nero let out an angry roar at her in protest. The female alpha stood her ground and did not move a muscle. She continued to stare at him with despise. Long before Aladar had come into her life, she knew about Nero. Neera knew that he had always wanted to become the leader and defeat her brother to do so. But it never came. Now, he was once again showing his desire to become one.

The male let out a snort and turned to walk away from the alpha female. Venting his rage at her would not do any good, as he knew that she would not give way.

"Hazel may have taken us from the Nesting Grounds, but she still saved us. And if she says that her people can save Aladar, then I will heed her word. Until he is returned to us, this herd will not do anything, and that includes harming the humans."

Nero stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. "Very well then. Trust the human and the rest of her kind if you must. But if word breaks out that our leader does not survive from his injuries, then I'll take his place as the TRUE leader."

With that said, the green-skinned dinosaur stormed off, leaving the bereft alpha behind. Neera looked down and stared at the ground in despair. A ball of emotions, ranging from confusion, to anger, to sadness, went through her mind. Despite all that has happened, she clung on to the hope that her mate would survive. Aladar had taught her to never give up, and that was what she would do.

"Aladar…" she whispered as tears streamed down from her eyes. "Please be okay…"

The distant sound of a helicopter caused the female to turn around. Awed, but still in despair, she observed the flying contraption climb up to the sky. Little did she know that it contained the human that saved, but emotionally hurt to them. Once it was high enough, it turned around and zoomed over her and that side of the valley within a few minutes. The aircraft flew over the valley and disappeared into the unknown world beyond the park's borders.

 _Author's Note:_

 _*Darksage faints from exhaustion and emotional pain*_

 _Marc: Uh...Sage? You okay? Hello! Sage-y~!_

 _*Pokes her with a stick*_

 _*Darksage does not move, but does moan*_

 _Marc: Oh boy. I think my partner has fainted from writing so much…and it looks like she cried a lot. So much stuff going on! Well, hope you guys liked this chapter and stay tuned for the next one. Now if you'll excuse me…*grabs Darksage by her feet and drags her away* I'm going to try to rouse her with some smelling salts before people start getting wrong ideas and blame me for having an unconscious girl in my possession._


	11. Tears and Revelations

_**Authors' Notes:**_

 _Marc: AND CLEAR!_

 _*Uses defibrillator to resuscitated Darksage*_

 _Darksage: YEEOUCH!_

 _*Is charred black from electricity*_

 _Marc: Thank God you're alive! Now get up. We have readers to entertain._

 _Darksage: Was that really necessary Marc?_

 _Marc: Yes. Yes it was. Anyways, hello readers! And welcome to the next chapter of Dinosaur: Extinction Lasts Forever. Man last two chapters were a doozy. Right Sage?_

 _Darksage: Where did you even get a defibrillator?_

 _Marc: Amazon._

 _Darksage: Right… but yes, you're right. Both of our heroes are critically injured and they are rushed to the operating table to save their lives. Will they be saved? How will the Herd adjust being in a strange new world? And what the heck happened to Hazel?_

 _Marc: Well to find out, read on dear audience! Read on!_

 _Darksage: Just a warning, if you still have that box of tissues with you, you're going to need it more than ever._

 _ **Disclaimer: We don't own Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park.**_

The South African sun was shining down over Johannesburg. The pleasant spring heat embracing the local citizens in warmth, as the people went about their day. It seemed to be another average day in the African city. Then a private helicopter zoomed overhead at an astonishing speed. Only few people paid it any heed, as they were too preoccupied with their own lives. Inside the chopper was a worried park keeper, a time explorer, and an engineer monitoring the vitals of an injured Hazel.

Marcus was pretty sure he wasn't suppose to travel this fast over the city's airspace, but he needed to make sure that the girl on the helicopter's gurney made it to the hospital immediately! His destination was the _Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre_ , located in Parktown, Johannesburg. This emergency hospital had top-of-the-line medical care and an advanced trauma surgery center, perfect for the ailing girl in Marcus's chopper. Bob, while concerned for the young woman's injuries, spoke up to the impromptu pilot.

"Marcus! How are we going to get Hazel admitted into Wits? That hospital usually only caters to people on waiting lists or government official of South Africa!"

Marcus was just focusing on his flying, as he called back to Bob over his shoulder.

"Don't worry Bob! I got this under control." The young prodigy just hoped that he still remembers "radio/chopper" lingo.

Just as they were a few miles out from the hospital, the helicopter's radio crackled to life.

" _Unidentified aircraft. This is Wits Med. Centre Tower Control. How do you copy? Over_."

Marcus switched on his microphone on his headset to communicate to the hospital's air tower.

"This is ' _Mesozoic 1_ '. Tower control, do you copy? Over."

" _Mesozoic 1, state your business and reason for traveling at your current rate. Over._ " The tower operator swiftly responded.

"Tower Control, I have a critically wounded passenger on board. Requesting permission to land. Over."

" _Mesozoic 1, you are coming in too hot. Decrease your current rate of speed before landing. Over_." Just as Marcus was about to comply, Hazel began to violently shutter in seizures. Bob was quickly trying to unfasten the gurney and held the girl down so she wouldn't injure her body further. Nigel was looking frightened and quickly called the engineer turned pilot.

"MARCUS! Get us to the bloody hospital!" The man was trying to assist Bob in calming Hazel's sudden compulsions. Marcus cursed under his breath and urged his vehicle to go faster. The Tower Control detected his increased acceleration.

" _Mesozoic 1! I repeat. You are coming in too hot! Decrease your speed before your arrival!"_ Marcus tried to remain calm and ignore the panicked sounds of his boss and the sickening shutters the young girl was going through.

"Negative on the modify, Tower. My passenger just underwent a violent seizure. I need to get to your helipad, ASAP. Over."

" _Look, you can to either decrease your speeds or spin to a go 'round. Your choice Mesozoic_." The Tower Operator said matter-of-factly.

The engineer was about to curse out the man on the other side of the radio when he suddenly felt familiarity in the conversation. In his favorite web series, _Red vs. Blue_ , there was a pilot that had a similar problem transporting an injured solider to the hospital space station. So with only a moment of thought to mentally script his improvised lines, Marcus belted out his performance.

"Okay Tower Control. I'll star—!" Marcus then started to rapidly roll the mouthpiece of his headset with his hand to simulate an audio scuffle. This odd action gained the attention of his conscious passengers, who were both perplexed by Marcus's out-of-place hand gestures. The engineer just kept it up. He hoped his "theatre performance" elective in college would suffice in his hastily half-baked plan.

"Sir? SIR! Let go of the micropho—," Marcus then cut off his voice and pressed his hand to his throat before resuming to speak, "Wits Tower Control. PLEASE LET US LAND!"

Marcus's slightly modified voice seemed to surprise the person on the radio.

" _What the- who is this? Identify yourself_." The perplexed flight controller asked the "new person" on the radio.

"This is Minister Ebrahim Patel. Let us land, Tower. The situation is rather dire!" Marcus just picked the first government official he remembered from his business school to impersonate. Luckily, Minister Patel's accent was a voice that the young engineer could easily emulate. Tower Control seemed to change his tone to one of formality when he heard one of his country's "leaders" speak to him.

" _Minister Patel? What are you-?"_ Marcus cut off the man, using his "authority".

"I am transporting an injured young woman that was attacked by a savage animal near one of my outer Textile Distribution Centers in the countryside. I beg of you Wits Tower. PLEASE let us land!"

There was a pause on the radio; only the radio crackles of the Tower Control breaking the silence. Inside Marcus's head, he was pleading to every god in the universe to make the man on the radio buy his ruse.

' _Please work. Please work. Please work!'_ The engineer was sweating bullets before the radio operator returned to the other line.

" _Mesozoic 1. Continue on your current course. Please, proceed with caution. We will have medical staff on standby when you land. Over_." Marcus let out a sigh of relief. They bought his performance. He made a short scuffle on his headset again and responded in his normal voice.

"Roger that Tower. ETA is approximately 5-minutes. This is Mesozoic 1, over and out."

The engineer turned off the radio and continued to steer the aircraft to the hospital. He noticed the silence and glanced back at his passengers. Both Nigel and Bob were gaping at Marcus's "improv performance."

"What? You guys didn't have a hobby when going to college? Close your mouths before flies get in there!" Marcus refocused to the front of the chopper, urging it to keep up its current pace.

"Nigel, when did we hire an impressionist for the park?" Bob gave the man a questioning side-glance. Nigel just shrugged in response.

"I don't know. It's news to me," the traveler looked towards the pilot in gratitude. "Thanks Marcus. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it," he looked over his shoulder at the grateful man. "Seriously though, don't. I just impersonated a government official and can REALLY get in trouble for crap like that."

"If I go to prison, you better get me out boss! I don't do well in enclosed places for extended periods. Nothing to distract my hyper brain with." The engineer quipped at the severity of his crime to ease the tension.

The corners of Nigel's mouth turned up before he remembered Hazel's idle form. She finally relaxed after her spontaneous shuttering. His mood dampened immediately. Nigel returned his focus to monitoring the girl's vitals.

' _Hang in there Hazel. Help is coming soon.'_

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 _Meanwhile, back at Prehistoric Park…_

On the park's savannah was one of Prehistoric Park's present day herd species was grazing on the golden grass. The elephants of the park acted like how their species tend to act like and they do like it when the park's keeper tend to their needs, but like to keep to themselves away from Prehistoric Park's main location. A majority of the elephant herd distrusts the residents of the park or, as they collectively call them, the "Creatures of the Rift." They keep their distance by roaming around the outer territories of the savannah plain, close by to not cause worry to their human keepers but far enough away to avoid their odd prehistoric neighbors.

Martha was eating her breakfast in relative peace. She was used of her new sisters' cautious behavior towards her and the other Residents. It took years for them to trust her enough to be comfortable enough to be near her general area, but Martha didn't hold it against them. She was the relative "newcomer" to her present day descendants.

Many things have happened over the years and it was very difficult in the beginning for the Paleocene pachyderm. She lost her bond-sister from human hunters, and was seriously injured fighting them off. She was heartbroken when her close friend fell into the Ice Age hunters' "Spike-pit" and stay with her until her sister passed. As she mourned her fallen sister, her life changed in the form of an odd time explorer. At first, she thought he was just another human hunter that would take advantage of her wounded state and kill her, but the odd man, who Martha now knew as Nigel, nursed her back to health and saved her life from her infected injuries.

The mammoth had a very hard time adjusting to the hot climate of Prehistoric Park, the era that she was born in being near subzero most days, but she endured. What really devastated Martha was the fact that she was alone in this strange new world, and cut off from her original herd and her dead sister. She hardly ate anything that the Keepers offered her, and even turned down eating her favorite permafrost vegetation that Nigel personally got foe her. She was just too sad with her isolation to even bother caring for herself. What changed was when she met the elephants of the Park.

The park keepers introduced Martha to her new matriarch, Mujaji. The matriarch was wary of Martha as she appraised the mammoth for what she was worth. Martha was just stunned that she had been introduced to a new herd of sisters that she immediately jumped at the chance to join Mujaji's "Sisterhood." After several moments of deliberation, Mujaji let Martha join her herd, which in turn, improved on the psyche of the once lonely Mammoth. Mujaji was luckily more open-minded than her timid followers, so the elephant put faith in her inclusion of her ancient ancestor. Yes, there were a few bumps along the way, and Martha's short time being banished from the Sisterhood did make her feel despair once again, but the disaster that released all of the Prehistoric Residents gave Martha her unintentional way back into the herd. She was able to scare off that terrifying predator Matilda and protected the matriarch's daughter, Mikiya. Her bravery earned the mammoth respect from her fellow sisters and many heart filled thanks from a grateful Mujaji.

Martha's eyes shined in happiness at the thought of her matriarch's young calf. Unlike the xenophobic elephant herd, young Mikiya was always curious about the residents of Prehistoric Park. Before Martha's inclusion to Mujaji's sisterhood, Mikiya would always sneak off and try to get a better look at some of her prehistoric neighbors and try to make friends with them. She would always get caught by her overly doting mother, herd-sisters, or park keeper, so she hasn't had a successful encounter with any of the more dangerous residents yet.

When Martha was fully accepted into the herd, Mujaji tasked the mammoth to essentially be Mikiya's "babysitter". Martha did love her new niece and Mikiya liked her "Aunt Martha" as well, but the young calf's antics were always difficult to keep track of and a handful for a year old calf. The Paleocene herbivore constantly had to shepherd the adventurous girl away from the more carnivorous neighbors of the park.

" _Siku njema, dada_ Martha."(1) Martha's reminiscing was interrupted by the call of her matriarch.

" _Salamu_ Matriarch Mujaji."(2) The Mammoth politely greeted her leader with her eyes avoiding her gaze as a sign of submission.

Mujaji smiled at her close confidants formality in amusement. Even after her heroics of saving her daughter, the mammoth was still worried about upsetting Mujaji. The Matriarch's trunk wrapped around one the wooly mammoth's tusks and gently shifted Martha's head up to meet her eyes.

"Come now Martha, no need to for reverence. You've more than earned your place in my herd as a sister," said Mujaji as she prompted the respectful mammoth to follow her. Martha was bashful of her relatively new bond with leader, and by extension her niece.

"I am sorry Matriar—I mean, Mujaji. Some habits are difficult to break." Martha wasn't used of being in close relations with her leader; she was hardly acknowledged from her former leader from her time period! Mujaji nodded in understanding.

"Yes, of course," the elephant leader sighed apologetically. "Your adjustment period was difficult and my over protectiveness of Mikiya alienated you. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me, my sister." Martha was touched that Mujaji had gracefully apologized and constantly tried to urge her to be on more familiar terms with. They stopped under an acacia tree as the mammoth full addressed her leader.

"I thank you _dada_ Mujaji. Not only for accepting me as a herd-sister, but for giving me a family again." Both pachyderms hugged each other with their trunks. "Besides, I love to dote on little Mikiya."

"Goodness… that troublesome girl is going to be the death of me. She always runs off and gets into trouble," Mujaji sighed as she shook her head at the mention of her calf.

"Mikiya isn't that bad." Martha tried to speak on the calf's behalf. The mammoth suspects the reason the young girl runs off was so she could find playmates her age to interact with. The rest of the herd, and coincidentally the park residents, were all full-grown; this left Mikiya wanting to make some friends of her own, which results in her unruly behavior.

"She spent all of last week trying to catch that over grown, razor-beaked ostrich that lives near the area where the humans work with a **butterfly net** that she managed to take from the keepers," the lead elephant eyed her companion in concern. "You are certain he is not a danger?"

"That terror bird would be a threat, if he did not have the mentality of a newborn. I do not think that Espantos is aware that he was born as a hyper carnivore," Martha reassured the worrying mother. "If anything, we should dissuade Mikiya from spending time with him to prevent his personality rubbing off on the calf."

Both of the females giggled at the description of Prehistoric Park's _Phorusrhacos._

"Speaking of my wayward calf, where is she?"

"She took her enrichment toys and snack foods to the border of our plains to greet those newcomers in the neighboring territory," Martha informed her herd leader as she lead Mujaji to where the calf ran off to. "We should probably get to her before she sticks her trunk into something unpleasant."

Mujaji just sighed as trailed after her prehistoric herd-mate.

' _Mikiya, that troublesome girl_.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile at the Elephant/Herd Grounds border…_

Neera was absent-mindedly wandering the savannah that was set-aside for her herd. While the _Iguanodon's_ surroundings were beautiful to look at, she couldn't fully appreciate it due to the constant thoughts of what transpired just hours before. Sadness, despair, hopelessness, rage. Those were the core emotions swimming around in her head. She couldn't break down, however. Since Aladar was incapacitated, Neera had to put on a mask of leadership and be strong for the herd's sake.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Neera's strife was interrupted a familiar, soft voice. Her eldest daughter Maya, along with her younger sisters Kaya and Saya, were looking up to their mother and wondering what was wrong.

Her eldest was a young, lavender skinned iguanodon. She would be the leader of her other sisters in most situations. Kaya was her middle child and possessed a light green coat of scales that had darker green spots speckled along her back. Saya was more like her youngest boy, very shy and quiet. The small, pink-toned girl was the youngest and would stick near her or her sister when she was traveling to new places. Saya was very scared when she arrived to the present and had to be consoled by her sisters until Neera arrived to comfort her, which was quite the task considering all the heartache of what happened. The alpha female was grateful that her daughters were one of the first to enter the portal to the present. They were always trying to spend time with her or other older females, like Eema and Baylene, trying to behave like proper ladies. She had to be strong for her family now; they came first, and her emotional needs could wait.

"I'm fine, girls. Mommy was just… exploring our new home." Maya and her sisters were going to continue questioning their conflicted mother when they were interrupted by a new voice.

"Hello rift creatures!"

The family of _Iguanodons_ jumped in surprise, startled at the newcomer that snuck up on them without them knowing. Saya was the first to scramble behind Neera's legs for protection of the new creature, while her other sisters backed away as well; Kaya being just behind Maya. Neera and her girls took in the appearance of the strange mammal that greeted them.

She was around 3-feet tall, about the size of Neera's children, and built compactly for her size. By the sound of the mammal's voice, the pink _Iguanodon_ figured that the creature before her was a youngling. Her skin tone was a grayish brown color, like a stone, and the little girl had a small tuft of hair on her head and the end of her short tail. The oddest feature was the youngling's long nose that almost touched the ground. The stranger baffled the 4 prehistoric newcomers as she lifted her flexible nose and waved at them again.

"My name is Mikiya. I'm one-and-a-quarter years old and like to play games with my herd-sisters, _Mama_ (3), and Auntie Martha. Can you guys play with me? Please?" The girl's pleading eyes were adorable, and assured the mother _Iguanodon_ that the girl wasn't dangerous, but Neera was still a bit perplexed about who and what this was.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but… what are you?" Neera asked the friendly youth.

"Oh right, you rift creatures are new to the present. Well, I'm a—"

"MIKIYA!"

"Crap." The deafening trumpet of an approaching duo of pachyderms cut off the youngling. Mikiya was sweating bullets as she turned around to greet the furious face of her mother and the amused expression of her aunt.

"Mikiya, you left the herd again WITHOUT telling anyone. Do you enjoy making your _Mama_ worry so?"

"No _Mama_." Mikiya squeaked downtrodden, knowing that she made a mistake again. Martha reached the sad calf's head with her trunk and patted the girl sympathetically.

"Come now child. You are making your Auntie's job of taking care of you increasingly difficult. Besides, what have we told you about talking to strangers?" The wooly mammoth questioned her adventurous niece.

"They're not strangers Auntie Martha," Mikiya trumpet-squeaked her aunt, "their names are… um…" The calf turned back towards the confused family sheepishly, "What are your names again?"

Martha rumbled in laughter, while Mujaji was doing the elephant equivalent to a face-palm: a "face-trunk". Neera decided to humor the girl, if only just to mitigate some of the blame off of the scolded calf. This also proved to be a much-needed distraction for all the emotions that was running rampant through her mind.

"My name is Neera," she began as she motioned towards her daughters, "These are my girls: Maya, Kaya," Neera sidestepped to reveal her hidden daughter, "and Saya. We're _Iguanodons_. If you don't mind me asking, what are you?" The fuchsia colored dinosaur questioned her new neighbors.

Neera took in the new arrivals' appearances. The one who called for the youngling, who she remembered was named Mikiya, was 9-feet tall. Neera had to slightly look up to just meet the creature's eyes. It was evident that the creature was Mikiya's mother. She looked exactly like Mikiya, with the exception of elongated teeth that Neera compared to some ceratopsian horns. Her confident stance was indicative of her being a leader, something that Neera was familiar with; with her being alpha female of her herd. The leader's companion, however, was odder than her and young Mikiya.

She almost looked like the first two creatures, but had radically different features. The creature stood at 10-feet tall and appeared to have longer front legs, adding to the dwarfing factor. She also had and odd dome-like bump on the top of her head, and a large hump on her shoulders. Her teeth were MASSIVE, even larger than the first mammal's "teeth-horns". It had its "teeth-horns" grown out at least 5-feet and curved back towards her, making it appear even larger. What really set the creature apart was all of its hair! It covered all of its body and even the long nose that it had. Neera tried not to stare. She grew up with leaders of herds and it was impolite to gawk. Luckily, the mammal leader didn't notice as she spoke to her.

" _Salamu_ Neera. My name is Matriarch Mujaji," the large grey mammal, Mujaji, introduced. "I am the leader of this savannah's elephant herd."

"Elephants?"

"Our species, my dear," the matriarch gently answered. "This young troublemaker is my calf, Mikiya, as she may have told you already." The calf just laughed sheepishly as she waved at the prehistoric family again. Mujaji gestured to her wooly companion, "and this is my bond-sister, Martha. She is my family in all except blood." The mega-fauna seemed to blush at the matriarch's praise.

"I hope my daughter hasn't caused you too much trouble." Mujaji said apologetically.

"No, no. Your daughter was no trouble at all. She just wanted to play with me and my kids." The pink dinosaur quickly answered, dismissing the worries of the embarrassed mother. Said calf looked up to her mother.

" _Mama_ , can I show my new friends my toys?" Mikiya pleaded, wanting to make friends with "the new kids". Mujaji let out a rumbled sigh in defeat. She would do anything to make her calf happy, even bending her rule about the "Creatures of the Rift".

"Okay _Ndama_ (4), let's go get your toys." Mujaji began lumbering towards the acacia tree that had all of the calf's toys. How the small calf managed to drag all of her toys here by herself would remain a mystery to the matriarch. Mikiya turned towards her new friends.

"Come on new friends! I want to show you my red ball."

"W-what's a ball?" Saya said, gaining enough courage to speak up. Mikiya's tiny trunk masked her jaw dropping in surprise.

"You don't know what a ball is? That's like not knowing what bananas are." The calf adopted a dreamy look at the thought of her favorite snack the humans give her herd on occasion.

"What's a banana?" The light pink youngling cocked her head in confusion.

Mikiya just gasped. How could any-creature not know the sweet wonders that are bananas? The little pachyderm quickly walked up to Saya, startling her in the process, wrapped her tiny trunk around the pink girl's shoulders.

"Let's go Saya. Mikiya needs to teach you what you have been missing!" The calf exclaimed as she dragged the young pink _Iguanodon_ with her.

"Ah! Hey not too rough. Maya, Kaya, help me!" She called to her sisters, trying to free herself from the calf's surprisingly strong grip. Both Maya and Kaya giggled at their sister's plight.

"Hey sis, wait up! I want to play with this 'ball'-thing," Kaya said, chasing after the retreating pair.

"Don't worry Mommy, I'll look after them" Maya took off after her sisters before Neera could say anything.

"Please just be careful!" Neera cried out to her retreating daughters. This left the Alpha female alone with the wooly pachyderm who was chuckling at the prehistoric mother's concern.

"Don't worry my friend. Your girls are in safe hands. The only thing you should worry about is if my darling niece brings your girls along one of her 'adventures'." Neera still didn't seem convinced and wore a worried expression.

"Maybe I should go with them, just to be on the safe side," she said, walking towards her girls and Mikiya playing with an odd red, round stone thing. Martha's trunk grasped Neera's shoulder gently, trying to calm the protective mother.

"Like I said Neera, your girls are safe. Mujaji is more than capable to look after the young ones for the moment." Martha laughed at the sight of her matriarch playing keep away with the girls, holding the ball with her trunk just out of reach of the playful younglings. The wooly mammoth turned to Neera, giving her best welcoming smile.

"I am guessing that you didn't receive a proper greeting since you arrived, my friend." Martha cleared her throat and adopted a grandiose posture for the alpha female, "Welcome Neera, to Prehistoric Park! A sanctuary where creatures of the past can start over in the safety of the present."

The mammoth's presentation was almost perfect if it wasn't for a horrid, noisy squawking heard in the distance. It reminded Neera of the call of raptors, which put the nervous ornithopod immediately on the defensive. Martha however, recognized the obnoxious sound and groaned in exasperation. The mammoth turned to the on guard Neera, and gave her an apologetic glance.

"Excuse me for just one second." Martha quickly turned to the direction of the still ongoing chatter, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, "ESPANTOS! IT IS TOO EARLY FOR YOU TO TRY AND SING WITH THE SONG BIRDS! KEEP IT DOWN!" She trumpeted at the top of her lungs.

Poor Neera was almost deafened by the wooly mammoth's powerful voice that she almost didn't hear the sudden stop of the raptor-like noises. The fuchsia dinosaur was even more surprised when Martha got a reply from the direction she was screaming towards.

"SORRY FURRY LADY!"

Martha could only shake her head at ruckus of Prehistoric Park's resident misfit. She turned to meet a wide-eyed Neera, who was currently questioning herself on what kind of future her herd came to.

"Sorry for my lapse of grace Neera, but if I didn't say anything then that bird brain would just keep at it."

"What was that noise? Was it a raptor?!" Neera's panicked questioning was dismissed by the mega-fauna.

"No, if it was a raptor, then the park would probably be in chaos again," Martha casually said, missing the shocked expression on Neera's face.

"That particular ruckus came from our resident Terror Bird, not to mention simple-minded hypercarnivore, Espantos." While Neera was not sure what a "Terror Bird" was, she did know what a "carnivore" is.

"How can you be so calm?! I thought you said that this was a safe place to live, but you just said there's a carnivore here! What's worse you just gave away our position," Neera was pacing back and forth in fear while Martha was watching the _Iguanodon_ in slight amusement.

"By the sound of it, that carnivore should be only a few miles away. We should move before it gets here to cause us harm!"

Martha promptly burst out in laughter, which caused Neera to look at the mammoth in confusion.

"I-I am sorry! It is just-" the mega-fauna just couldn't catch her breath at the pink dinosaur's misplaced concern.

"What is so funny? Predators are a serious concern," Neera said eyeing the laughing herbivore. Martha's laughter had subsided as she addressed the alpha female to put her fears to rest.

"Yes, yes. Predators are a valid concern. However, the day that Espantos is considered a 'danger' then it would be the end of the world," Martha said to the puzzled ornithopod.

"That birdbrain is a pest at the best of times. And a nightmare at the worst," Martha shuttered at the particular memory of the anniversary of Espantos's recovery. She and the rest of the Prehistoric Park residents made a vow to _never_ speak of the incident again. She could still imagine the chaos that ensued from the hyperactive bird that day.

She shook herself out of her reminiscing to continue speaking with her new neighbor, "The point is, that particular carnivore is harmless. Just stay away from the other ones and you'll get along with the park just fine."

Neera just processed what Martha was saying until she widened her eyes again.

"You mean to say that there are OTHER carnivores here? I thought you said that this place was a sanctuary for us?"

"Yes, it is. It is a paradise for creatures of the past like us, but it is also home for a number of predators too." Martha revealed to Neera. The pink dinosaur's mind was spinning with this new influx of information. It certainly didn't help with her prior conflicting thoughts that were still on her mind. Instead of responding in her normal, level headed tone, Neera's emotions made her blow up on the kind mammoth.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE!?" The alpha female's sudden tone made the mega-fauna step back in surprise.

In the distance, Mujaji heard the _Iguanodon's_ bellow due to her keen ears. She was going to investigate until she locked eyes with her bond-sister. Martha's gaze silently told her, _'Everything is fine. Don't interfere._ ' Trusting the mammoth's judgment, the elephant Matriarch resumed her vigil over the children, who luckily didn't notice Neera's scream of frustration due to being engrossed in their impromptu game of kickball. While this was happening, Neera was venting her frustrations on Martha, who continued to watch her pace back and forth in agitation.

"Is that the reason she saved us? To use my mate's herd to feed the carnivores of this place? It figures that she would bring us here with the promise of safety, only to be eaten!" Neera was ranting hysterically as she poured all of the hurt that accumulated over the past few hours. If she were in her right mind, she would have realized that what she has said was farfetched. Neera was very emotional at the moment, so logical thinking fell to wayside.

"I'm sorry, but who is this 'she'?" Martha's questioning was met with a sharp glare.

"The human girl, Hazel. Sound familiar?!" The alpha female practically roared in the face of mega-fauna's face, yet Martha stood her ground.

"Oh yes, Hazel Veran. She is such a sweet child. That girl has a kind soul, like Nigel and Suzanne in a sense." The mammoth didn't seem to flinch at Neera's obvious rage, which made her even more livid. Instead, she carried on her with calm, soothing tone.

"That 'sweet child' nearly destroyed my entire herd!" Martha just gave Neera's wrathful face a questioning look as her gaze hardened slightly.

"You seem like a healthy individual, and I assume your herd grows to at least your size. Tell me, how would a small human, barely into her adulthood, manage to nearly destroy such massive creatures all by herself?" The wooly mammoth wasn't going to stand by and let Neera bad mouth one of Martha's favorite keepers, even if she is a newcomer.

"My home was going to be destroyed by a massive disaster, and Hazel didn't even tell us, her best friends, anything about it!"

"And yet, here you are. Safe and sound from your destruction, thanks to Hazel."

It was obvious that Neera and Martha were at an impasse, neither side wanting to back down from telling the other what they believe to be the truth.

"Forget it! I wouldn't expect an elephant from this time to understand the plight that we went through. My home is gone, my family and friends were nearly killed, and the love of my life was burnt alive! And now I have to wait, hoping that the species that I'm now having doubts trusting can save Aladar's life!"

Neera was panting after her long tirade; her head low to the ground as she tried to regain her breath. She had no idea if Hazel's word of her mate's recovery would be successful, which caused Neera stabs of worry and fear to her heart. She already lost her brother Kron tragically, she didn't want her love to meet his end as well. The mentally fatigued ornithopod noticed the silence of her surroundings, which slightly confused her. Neera raised her head to meet her unwitting confidant's gaze.

Martha silently watched the _Iguanodon's_ mental breakdown. The mammoth's eyes seemed to pierce through Neera's very soul with her soft, experienced eyes. She silently turned towards a nearby tree, pausing momentarily to gesture Neera to follow her. In her emotional state, Neera's subconscious obeyed the mega-fauna's request as she walked with Martha to the tree. When they reached the shade of the tree, Martha found a comfortable position on the ground and sat, nodding for her companion to do the same. When Neera took a seat across from Martha, they both sat in peaceful silence. Martha had shut her eyes, taking in the peace that the savannah's morning brought. Just when Neera was going to ask for the reason of the mega-fauna's cryptic actions, the pachyderm chose that moment to speak.

"I'm a mammoth."

"I'm sorry, what?" Neera was confused at the wooly resident's seemingly random choice of words. Martha chuckled slightly as she opened her eyes to acknowledge the perplexed dinosaur.

"I'm not an elephant. At least, not of the same breed as Mujaji and my niece." Martha's voice took on a reverent tone as she revealed her origins to Neera.

"I am like you Neera. I too am displaced from my time as well." Her confession surprised the pink alpha female as she continued to listen to Martha's words.

"My kind roamed the ancient Ice Age world of the past and although we lived simple lives, we lived in peace." Despite not knowing what "ice" was, Neera dared not interrupt Martha's tale of her past.

"Although my world was cold, it began to change. It wasn't in an instant it was gradual, hardly noticeable if you didn't pay close attention to the change." Martha seemed to forget that she had an audience as she continued to speak.

"The grazing grounds were replaced with massive forests that took over the land. I had to watch as members of my herd, my sisters, starved to death because of our dwindling grasslands. While it was unsettling, my herd endured the hardships… until we were found by Hunters." Neera could see the anger that pouring off of the Paleocene herbivore as she continued to listen.

"We didn't know what was the cause for these killings. My own matriarch assumed that the predators of our time got to the sisters that fell behind. I imagined all sorts of terrible creature that could have cut down our number from hundreds to a mere several dozen. I got my answer in the form of my Bond-Sister dying in front of my eyes."

Martha took a moment to sob before continuing."We were scouting to find a field to graze on when my sister fell into a trap, a massive hole dug into the ground filled with sharpened sticks, a 'Spike-pit' if you will. I had to watch helplessly as my sister's blood tarnished the ground beneath her."

"H-how did that happen? Who could have done such a thing?" The female _Iguanodon_ said with grim curiosity.

"Humans killed her."

Martha's short answer left the fuchsia _Iguanodon_ even more confused. How could Martha, a seemingly wise mammal, ever trust the species that was responsible for her herd-mates' demise? The mega-fauna continued before Neera could voice her questions.

"Human's of my time were very greedy, despite being so frail. While we had our strength of body, humans had strength of mind and were very crafty when wanting to accomplish things. I learned that the human hunters took what they wanted without thought of their surroundings." Martha's rage returned as she recalled the event prior to her rescue, "I had to fight them off so they would not desecrate my sister any further. So that she could die peacefully without hunters fighting over who would get to devour which part of her. I received my share of wounds from the conflict," Martha said, as she used her trunk to part the fur on her left shoulder to reveal to Neera the nasty scar she received from the hunters' spears.

Neera could only wince as she took in the sight of the mammoth's old wound. She could tell that it was quite painful, Neera seeing her fair share of wounds on her brother for her to gage how painful it was.

"As I mourned for my sister, I thought to myself: 'This is it. This is how I will die. By the hands of some greedy, cruel humans.' I was certain that I was going to die. But that changed when I met the strangest of humans, Nigel Marven."

Martha gained a slight grin as she closed her eyes in remembrance. "At first, I thought he was just another hunter, trying to kill me in my injured state. When resigned to my fate, Nigel just stroked my trunk caringly, as if he were greeting me as an old friend. He treated me with more kindness than I have ever witnessed in any species I have encountered," the mammoth giggled slightly as she remembered all of the peculiar man's odd acts kindness to her and all of the residents.

"When I gave up on myself, Nigel, this stranger, found me and nursed me back to health. He traveled through the Rift multiple times, just to get me acclimated and comfortable to life in the park."

The mammoth's eyes found Neera's again as they narrowed slightly, "Neera, I too have lost my home, and while it may not have been as immediate as what you have gone through, it was still lost. My family and friends perished as well, if not by time, then by those savage humans that viewed my kind as nothing but meat to devour."

Martha's voice had an edge to it as she continued to speak of her past, which helped her vent her own sorrow that she held in, and to scold Neera's behavior in an indirect manner. Neera couldn't help but shrink back in self-consciousness, being reminded of when her own mother scolded her for misbehaving. Martha continued to give the alpha female what she thought of her situation.

"My entire world was against my kind, but it was through the actions of an odd explorer that saved my life and granted me a new family," Martha said as she spied Mikiya, Mujaji, and Neera's triplets joyously playing tag with each other. She sighed as she returned her sight towards Neera, who looked like she was struggling to comprehend her words.

"Martha, why are you telling me this?" Neera nearly whispered, her rampant emotions only allowing the alpha female to softly voice her words without the risk of her rage surfacing again.

"My point is that Nigel, and by extension the keepers of Prehistoric Park, always have their hearts in the right place. No matter what, they are willing to bond with us and care for us, even when it is dangerous to themselves."

Martha grunted as she let out a fatigued sigh."I won't pretend to know the pain you are going through, my friend, and what I say to you may not be welcomed right now," the mammoth wrapped her trunk around Neera's shoulders to comfort her heartache, "Just know that Nigel has been training Hazel to be his heir to the park, meaning that she already has the compassion of her predecessor. Hazel is still a budding youngling; she is so eager to please her friends and make them happy, that any unintentionally cruel actions she has made against you and your herd was not an act out of spite, just inexperience." Martha's words were getting through to the emotionally conflicted female as she continued to talk.

"How would revealing the demise of your land make it any better? From what I can guess of Hazel's character, if she held no value for you and your herd then she _would_ have told you as soon as she came back to you. The girl wanted to you to remember your home for what it was, not what it became." Martha said in order for Neera to consider the young human's side of the story.

Realizing that Martha was right, Neera took a deep breath to calm her nerves. With one of her turbulent emotions solved, the _Iguanodon_ felt slightly better.

"You're right Martha, Hazel didn't deserve all of our anger. She was… no… she _is_ one of us. Hazel's been with my herd, my family, the year before and helped us get to our Nesting Grounds. I'm ashamed that I have even _considered_ Hazel to not be the trusted friend that Aladar and I traveled with." The female's face fell when she mentioned her mate, "Aladar…"

Neera's rising outlook on life quickly dampened. She began to tear up when she remembered the condition that her mate was in. The fuchsia toned dinosaur was shuddering as she tried to hold in her sadness. She had to remain strong and keep up the image of leadership for her followers. In Martha's eyes, Neera's shaky breaths of sadness were obvious signs of the scared female's plight. Slowly, Martha approached the shuttering dinosaur and wrapped her trunk around the grieving female, giving her the elephant equivalent to a hug.

"It is alright for you to feel sadness Neera. Crying does tend to help." Neera tried to struggle out of the comforting embrace, even though her sadness and worry sapped her energy and strength away from the alpha.

"I can't Martha, I have to be strong. I MUST be strong! For the herd, my friends, and my family. They need someone to remain strong and hopeful like my brother and… Aladar," Neera stated, her voice reflecting her emotional state and turmoil of being a beacon of hope for her followers.

"Then do those things," Martha held the mournful dinosaur closer, "but right now, there is no herd, friends, or family that you need to put on a show for. It is okay for you to shed your tears."

As soon as Martha finished, Neera immediately took her advice and let loose the torrent of emotions she held within her. Her cries, sobs, and wails were loud, but necessary. She cried for what felt to her like hours, but she didn't care. The burden of keeping in her emotions was eased from her shoulders with each and every tear that she released. Martha was right. There was no herd, no friends, and no family to judge her. This moment was Neera's, as she continued to cry into the mammoth's shoulder. Through her sorrow, one thought bled through and that was her concern for Aladar.

' _Please Aladar… Come back to me. I can't do this without you.'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile, at the Prehistoric Park Infirmary…_

Suzanne rushed over to the shuddering _Iguanodon_ in the middle of the infirmary. This area, which was recently built last year, served as the infirmary for the larger residents of the park. Normally, the building wouldn't be that busy, but the arrival of a large group of animals and a burned herbivore changed that.

The building was built in the likeness of a large garage made for planes. It was very spacious, which was perfect for keeping a large number of injured residents in. However, the staff members just call it the infirmary because there was a separate department for vehicles. The inside was littered with medical equipment; ranging from heart monitors to breathing apparatuses. There was also a pile of multicolored blankets and cushions for the injured residents at the very right corner of the building, which were all neatly piled up next to the wall.

The building also had a walking bridge platform that connected both ends of the building. The platform nearly touched the ceiling, making it perfect for the staff members to have a good view of the area below. On the right side was a viewing box for the doctors to observe the animals from a distance and also where the important drugs/medications were kept. That place connected to the walking platform by a series of steps.

In all of her years as a veterinarian, this was the first time Suzanne had to deal with injuries this extensive. She never thought she had to work with so many vets at one time, or even operate on a 30-foot long animal.

" _First time for everything,"_ she thought to herself as she put her operating mask on.

In front of her, the other vets were working to apply the needed medical equipment onto Aladar such as the breathing apparatus, the wire connected to the large heart monitor, and the tubes for feeding/medication inductions. Some vets were applying some special ointments on the burns as they were being uncovered. He was in pretty bad shape, considering the blackened patches on skin on his hide and the number of vets that were uncovering the bandages for the operation.

Suzanne was stressed. That much she knew. Not only does she need to do everything she can to save this animal, but one of the people she cared about is being transported to the nearest hospital due to a violent attack from one of the new residents. She treated burns before, but these third degree burns took the cake.

Just then, one of the vets, fully dressed in light green medical attire, rushed towards her as she was making her way to the injured _Iguanodon_.

"Have you retrieved the things needed for skin-grafting?" she asked him.

"Yeah, they're all at the back," he told her.

"Good. His hide's been severely damaged by those blazing winds. All of his burnt skin needs to be surgically removed."

"Dr. McNabb, there's a problem," the male vet informed her. "The sedative on him is starting to wear off and we're going to need a large amount of it if we're going to be operating on him!"

Suzanne stopped in her tracks and looked at him. Sweat was starting to fall down her brow from the heat outside and the stress. That was something she hoped would not come up.

"We've only got so many sedatives in the park. Considering the damage that was done on this one, we might be going through our stores while he's getting healed!"

Right when he said that, a scream and a short burst of movement came from the injured leader. His convulsions, rapid movement of his legs, and sudden roar caused the vets to back away in fear. The equipment that was on him also became slightly undone. The heart monitor he was hooked up to let out a flat beep indicating the disconnection.

The vets did the best they could to hold his legs down, but that only resulted in them getting thrown off. With each violent movement, pain shot up through Aladar's body. His eyes were still shut tight as he tried to block out the pain. The head veterinarian and her associate watched in horror as he convulsed in agony.

Her assistant Sarah came running with a vial full of sedative when she was suddenly stopped by Suzanne.

"No don't use that!" she commanded.

The medic stopped at stared at her in confusion. "Suzanne, he needs to be knocked out if we're going to operate on him!"

"Get me a large vial of the barbiturate drugs in our stores!"

"Dr. McNabb, are you insane!?" she retorted. "Isn't that only used on humans?"

"There's a reason why we have those drugs Sarah!" Suzanne reminded her forcefully. "And this is one of them! If we're going to save his life, then we need to knock him out for an extended period of time!"

"You mean put him under a coma!?" the assistant shrieked in realization.

"YES IN A COMA! DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU!?" her sudden outburst silenced the young woman and stopped the other vets from their efforts on Aladar.

Her frustration of the entire situation had its intended effect on the other workers. They sensed her worry and fell silent. For a moment, they did nothing. Suzanne stared at them with worry in her eyes and ordered them to resume their duties.

"Well don't just stand there! We've got work to do! You lot, continue to put those creams on him! Someone get me the breathing apparatus to administer the drug! The rest of you, do what you can to get him to calm down!"

The vets, and Sarah, proceeded to do as they were told. The situation was getting worse by the minute. The head vet knew that the barbiturate drug would create an induced coma and that it was a reversible process. What worried her was the amount of time he would be out. Third degree burns take a considerable amount of time to heal. Sure, they have the technology to speed up the healing process, but the other members of the herd Hazel and Nigel rescued don't know that. She doesn't know how long they'll hold up without one of their members. And she has no idea that the _Iguanodon_ she and the rest of her team were trying to save was the alpha male.

Seeing the other vets work around Aladar made the dark-haired woman think back to when Hazel interacted with that female _Iguanodon_. How on earth did she get her to calm down? Plus, it was as if she could understand the creature like she was speaking plain English! If Hazel was still here, then she could easily tell the dinosaur to relax while the vets prepared him for the operation.

Unfortunately, Hazel wasn't here. She was injured by a member of his kind. But seeing that young woman with that fuchsia female prompted her to try to do the same.

Suzanne walked up to Aladar and knelt by his head. She bent down and whispered in his ear.

"It's alright. You're going to be okay. I promise you, everything is going to be fine," she softly told him.

Aladar perfectly heard that and relaxed. The vet was amazed that he responded to her reassurance so quickly. In her mind, she was thinking that perhaps they have misunderstood the magnificent creatures as incapable of understanding humans. Maybe they were not paying attention hard enough?

The _Iguanodon_ opened his eye halfway to see the source of the calming voice. It was unfamiliar to him, yet it sounded so calm. It reassured him that everything was going to be okay. That he would make it. His vision was blurry, but he did make out a shape right before him. He could also hear the various activities of the vets around him, but he did not know what they were doing.

"Plio?" he coughed out. Moments passed and he received no answer. His vision became slightly clearer. Looking again, he saw that the shape he was looking at appeared to be human.

"Hazel?" Aladar guessed again. Once again, there was no answer.

Suddenly, something cold touched his nose. He yelped in surprise, but was held down by the figure right before him. He struggled to get the object off, but he was too weak to do so. He roared in pain at his sudden jerking and lay still. As he did, his vision became blurry again and the sounds became muffled. Aladar's world melted away as his vision faded into darkness.

 **Author's Notes:**

 _Marc: And that's a wrap! Man this chapter was still in covered in leftover Feel-i-O's._

 _Darksage: Why do you do this to me Marc?_

 _*Blows nose into tissue*_

 _Marc: For the LOLs. And for the drama of the story! Now come on Sage-y. Lets get us some ice cream. Would that cheer you up?_

 _*Darksage nods while being led away by Marc*_

 _Darksage: Leave your comments in the review section._

 _Marc: Expect the next chapter to come out fairly soon. See ya!_

Swahili to English translation

1) Good morning

2) Greetings

3) Mother

4) Calf


	12. Awakening

_Hey guys, Darksage and Marc here with the next chapter in this story. Now this chapter was supposed to be in the previous one, but we decided to make it separate because of length. Also, because it's almost Easter, we wanted to give you a present...the next chapter! Sorry about the long wait for this chapter and the previous one. A lot of things came our way. Just a heads up, but if there is a delay in posting new chapters, then it is mostly due to schoolwork and other events. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! **Disclaimer: We do not own Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park. We also do not own any mention of actual people or real locations. We only own the characters we created.**_

One week later…

Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre

Nigel sat in despair by Hazel's side. The room he was in was typical for a hospital room. There was the usual nightstand, TV hanging from the ceiling, lounge area by the window off to the right, the bathroom door next to it along with the sink, and the various medical equipment around the hospital bed. The floor consisted of gray and white marble tiles, another trait in a hospital.

For the past few days, the head zoologist of Prehistoric Park was downtrodden and depressed. The whole "herd rescue" incident had done a number on the man's strength and emotions. Rescuing a herd of dinosaurs was one of his big dreams for Prehistoric Park, but he never thought that this much heartache would come along. Because of him, he had inadvertently placed his daughter-figure in the emergency room.

He stared at the comatose girl, who lay idle on the hospital bed. This was not the image of a young woman who had rescued a herd of at least 200 dinosaurs and 30 lemurs from destruction. Hazel wore a simple light green hospital gown and her hair lay unkempt. She had a nasal cannula on her nose to help her breathe, an IV and pump on her left arm to help with delivering some sort of liquefied medication, a feeding tube and pump to give her the necessary nutrition imbedded in her right arm, and finally, next to her was a heart rate monitor.

Hazel just went through surgery a few days prior to Nigel's second visit. The damage that one green _Iguanodon_ did to her was very extensive; the doctors had to attach plates and bolts on her ribs. It was a miracle that none of her major organs were affected. Still, he along with the other staff members at the park were anxious and worried for her. At least the surgery was a success. But the damage from the communicator short-circuiting had placed her into a coma.

Nigel felt in his heart that he had a part in Hazel's condition. If he had protected her back then, she wouldn't be in a coma now. Instead, he would be in her place. His friends back at the park told him that there was nothing he could do. He wished in his mind to use the time poles to go back to that moment and protect Hazel, but the consequences of that would be catastrophic. Not only that, but there were factors that would make it impossible.

"I'm sorry Hazel," he softly said and looked down at his feet. "I should have helped you."

Just then, he heard a knock on the door of the room. Nigel perked his head up and turned towards the doorway. The door opened and a man wearing a dark green polo and knee-length shorts stepped inside. The man was smart enough to not wear his park uniform because if he did, people would wonder about the logo, which would risk exposing the secret sanctuary to the world. Right behind him was a younger man wearing a black Iron Man T-shirt with ripped jeans. The younger employee grabbed hold of the door and slowly closed it to avoid surprising anyone with the loud slam.

"Hi Bob," Nigel blankly greeted before looking back at Hazel.

"Sorry about that, got lost on the way here," he replied and pulled up a chair to sit next to him. He also placed the gray bag he had down onto Hazel's side.

"Only because I wanted to get a bite to eat," Marcus jokingly added. He sat across from the two older colleagues, next to Hazel's side too.

Bob had actually arrived there an hour before via Marcus driving the helicopter. The engineer had to pull off another lie to the Tower Control, saying "Ebriham Patel asked us to go in his stead" in order to land. Both men were grateful for the young employee's talent for impression from before and today.

"How is she?" Marcus inquired as he stared at the idle Hazel.

Nigel sighed. "Her condition's still the same."

"I still can't believe Hazel could actually talk to the animals," the head keeper remarked. "And you never told any of us about it."

The park creator became even more downtrodden at that statement. Due to the recent circumstances, he had to come clean about him and Hazel's secrets. He only told Bob, Suzanne, and Marcus about it, as they were his closest friends and colleagues. Nigel figured that they should be the first to know before anyone else. He told them everything; from the day Hazel left on her mission months before, her journey with the herd to the Nesting Grounds, the return to the past, all the way up to what had transpired last week. He did not miss a beat in his explanation. Of course, they were all mad at him for not telling them in the first place. He expected that. But after hearing his reasons, they calmed down and treated him with sympathy. In fact, his reason he gave them was the idea Hazel told him back when they were in the ancient past. It was a good excuse, and a good project for him to think about.

"I'm sorry...I didn't want you to know until later. I had a plan about the communicator I gave Hazel, as I've told you before. Her solo journey was a way for me to determine if it worked or not. I wanted to use the schematics I had to create more for everyone, so that we would be able to have the same privilege Hazel had. Now that future is looking bleak…"

Hearing that caused Marcus' curiosity to pique. He snapped his head towards his boss and eyed him. "Why's that?"

The time explorer dug into his pocket and revealed the broken communicator. The two men observed it as if it were some sort of alien technology.

"Because this thing is a prototype. I even added the extra feature that allowed Hazel to converse with the carnivores. Now that it's broken, replicating it will be difficult," he explained.

"May I?" Marcus asked him if he could inspect it himself.

Nigel nodded, prompting the engineer to observe the high-tech item. The man turned it in his fingers, inspecting every detail and feature on the odd hearing aid.

"The outer shell looks fine. This thing looks similar to some earphones and hearing aids I've seen. I can't believe you didn't water proof this thing. It's a freaking miracle that Hazel didn't get caught in a rainstorm with this thing! I actually have some spare parts back in my workshop. If you'd like, I can try to fix this thing then use what I've got to make more of them. If you'll let me."

For once, Nigel heard something that slightly lifted his spirits. There was a reason why he hired this man for Prehistoric Park. His knowledge on the mechanics used in the park were useful in keeping it running. If Marcus could create more communicators just like this one, and perhaps fix the prototype, then the language barrier for everyone would not be overlooked.

"Marcus, I'm so glad I hired you," he simply responded.

The engineer nodded then gave the communicator back to his boss. In his mind, he was glad that he was given the opportunity to work with an important piece of equipment that would help with speaking to the residents of the park. However, when he thought of that, he remembered the other problem that the park may face in the future. The new influx of residents would do a significant cut on the budget for the park. He has to tell him soon, but due to the new problem they were facing now, telling Nigel would only make things worse.

" _Later I'll tell them,"_ he told himself.

"Bob, how's Aladar?" Nigel asked the park keeper.

The man looked at his colleague in confusion. Aladar? Who was that again? He knew Nigel said that name before, and so did Hazel, but he could not remember who it was.

"Aladar?" he questioned.

Nigel cleared his throat. "Um, the _Iguanodon_ at our infirmary."

"Oh right. Well according to Suzanne, the Iguana- er…Aladar's injuries are pretty extensive. Right now, they're doing something with 'skin-grafting' on him. They've already done a little on him, but they've got a lot more to go if they're going to get that bloke back on his feet. I was also told that she had to put him under an induced coma; she said it was the only way to do so to help with the healing process."

"I just hope the herd will trust us when we return him to them," he remarked in despair.

"I've noticed the behavior of the herd after they first arrived in this time. Their health is fine, but none of us can get too close to them. Every time we do, they either run the other way or they ward us off. Especially that green one…" Bob added with worry.

"You mean the one that attacked Hazel? Is he the leader of the herd or something?" Marcus wondered.

Nigel shook his head. "No. The leader is the one we're trying to save," he said, referring to Aladar. "The one that attacked Hazel is a completely different _Iguanodon_. I can't remember his name, but Hazel did scream it out when she was arguing with him that time."

"If Aladar is the leader, then the herd would be in disarray now," Bob guessed. "But they're not. Why's that?"

"Most likely because Neera is making sure that things are in order while he's incapacitated," he offhandedly mentioned.

"Neera?" Marcus blurted out.

"Aladar's mate and the alpha female," Nigel explained.

"Phew…gosh we need to know all of their names now…" Bob muttered.

Just then, a knock was heard from the door. All three men turned their heads towards that direction and watched it open. The man that entered inside was a young Caucasian with curly brown hair, a white polo shirt, brown office pants, leather shoes, and a white lab coat. In his hands was a filled yellow file. He looked to be in his thirties and had a sort of athletic build to him under the medical attire.

He stopped before the three men and the comatose Hazel.

"Evening gents. Sorry to interrupt this reunion," he apologized.

"Oh, uh no problem at all," Nigel told him.

"Dr. Jeremy Cantrell. I'm the one that was in charge of this woman's operation," he greeted and extended a hand to the park creator.

"Oh," the vested man blurted out then stood up to shake his hand. "I'm-"

"Oh no need to tell me. You're Nigel Marvin, world-renowned zoologist. It's an honor to meet you," he said while shaking his hand firmly for a few seconds.

"Pleasure," Nigel replied before retracting his hand back. The doctor then shook the other men's hands before getting back to him.

"So, how is our patient?"

"She's still unconscious. Sleeping like a rock. Nothing much," Bob answered with no enthusiasm.

"I see…well I would like to speak to this woman's caretaker. Or her parents if possible," the man said as he stood on his tiptoes for a moment, waiting for an answer.

Nigel looked away at that. Hazel's parents were not available for a reason. Not because of a divorce, but because of something else. He was good friends with her parents, especially her father, who was one of the co-creators of Prehistoric Park.

"Hazel's mother is away on a business trip. Even I don't know where she is. Her father…is dead. Lost at sea," he simply told him. "We're the girl's guardians, but if you want to discuss something about her, you can talk to me about it."

Dr. Cantrell nodded and led him towards the door. "Very well then. There's something I would like to discuss with you."

"Wait, what about us?" Bob asked in a slightly louder tone.

Nigel turned and responded with some hand signals. "You two stay here. I'll be back."

With that said, both park creator and doctor left the vicinity, leaving the engineer and park keeper alone with the girl.

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Wits Gordon Medical Centre

Room 517

Dr. Cantrell's office

Nigel expected to be sitting in some sort of fancy, enclosed space with a window that overlooked the city of Johannesburg. In reality, it was just a typical small office room. The desk was large because it had a large extension right at the side where the man could do his paperwork and had a series of drawers behind it. The desk also had an area where he could place his laptop and use his computer in the middle. Finally, the cubicles above the computer had a series of papers, books, and files related to neurology and anatomy.

As for the walls, they were dotted with awards and diplomas that Dr. Cantrell had received in the past. One of which was from Harvard University, which amazed the zoologist. There were also pictures of him in other countries like China, South America, and India. Most of them looked pretty aged according to their picture quality.

Nigel sat down on the chair before the desk and waited for the doctor himself to do the same on his side. Unlike Nigel, who had just a simple cushioned maroon seat from the lobby in the hospital, Dr. Cantrell had a white rotating office chair. He couldn't blame him, he was the doctor after all.

"So Dr. Cantrell, what is this about?" He started.

"Well," he said and placed the file before him. "It concerns young Hazel."

"What about her? Is she okay? Is there some kind of permanent damage on her body?" Nigel asked, though he tried to keep his worried tone under control.

The doctor shook his head, which relieved the park creator.

"No she's fine. In fact, other than the coma she's in, she's healthy as a horse, which amazes me to no end," the Caucasian male stated. "I know you mentioned this before, but how did she get admitted here again?"

Nigel gulped at that. When the nurses were bringing Hazel into the emergency room last week, he had to cover up the accident big time. Saying that she was attacked by a 3-ton _Iguanodon_ and got her brain electrocuted by a special hearing aid were not viable options. He thought he was done with the explanations; apparently he was not out of the woods.

"She was attacked by a bull elephant near one of the gaming reserves," he lied. "We were on an excursion to study the ecological impacts the elephant herds had on the environment when one of the bulls got too close to us. We managed to outrun the thing and made it to one of the borders. Jumping over the electric fence wasn't a problem for me, but she...well...I think you can piece it all together."

"I see...that's a terrible accident indeed. But, that's all in the past, and this is the present."

Nigel's widened at the sound of that. How could this doctor be so calm about the condition Hazel's in? She just went through the most excrutiating punishment anyone could have ever imagined and yet he's taking it in stride? He was surprised that the lie went well, but how he moved on from it was mind-boggling.

"You don't seem too worried about her health then," he blankly stated.

"Well I'm not. You can be rest assured that she will be fine. But that's not the entire reason as to why I called you here," he said and slowly opened the file before the brown-haired zoologist. The man took out one piece of transparent paper containing the image of a brain scan, no doubt it was Hazel's.

Nigel wasn't much of a neurologist, but he did know that different parts of the brain did control different activities for the body. Each section was in charge of a specific aspect like hearing, learning, memory, and such. This scan was marked with different colorations on the different parts of Hazel's brain, but unlike a healthy human brain that had multiple colorations, Hazel's was almost completely blank. The exceptions were a few sections that still had activity. The picture contained the top view of the brain, along with the left and right side views.

"This is Ms. Veran's brain right after the operation, just a few days ago. You can see the areas where there should be a lot of activity, there isn't."

The man observed the scans for another moment. Seeing the scan of her brain did confirm that it did get friend in the electric blast from the communicator breaking. It looked as if it was almost dead.

"And this…" he said next after taking another scan out and sweeping the previous one to the side. "Is her brain now."

Nigel wanted to gawk at the sight. Unlike the previous picture, the scan showed a multitude of colors of the brain. The reds, the blues, and yellows were all over the place. It was as if he was looking at a normal brain again. What was really striking was on the lower left of the brain, there was a number of red, yellow, and white colorations in the area.

"Her brain is showing huge signs of activity. Particularly in her Wernicke's area on the lower left of her brain. In case you don't know, the Wernicke's area is the part of the brain that deals with language comprehension. Damage to it would cause Wernicke's aphasia, which is a disorder where the person would have outstanding, grammatical speech but would have trouble with using and understand the basic nouns and words."

"If Ms. Hazel here had that disorder," he continued. "Then the Wernicke's area would look entirely different. Judging from the scans I ran on her brain, you can see the multitude of activity on her Wernicke's area. It's as if it's supercharged!"

That was a lot of information that was thrown at him, and Nigel was doing his best to take it all in. While he was stunned about what he had just seen and heard, he was more relieved in the fact that Hazel was alive and healthy. Although, he had no idea what a supercharged Wernicke's area would do to her brain. Would it be beneficial? Or would it be harmful?

"This is very intriguing…" he blurted out after looking at the doctor again.

"It definitely is. Now with your permission, I would like to study her a bit more so that I could get more data on her brain activity."

Nigel slowly leaned back into his seat in shock. He had already taken scans of Hazel's brain, which he reluctantly agreed with because he was a doctor, but now he wants to take more scans of her? That he did not want to happen.

Two reasons: one, Hazel has already been through enough. If she stayed here at the hospital, there is the chance that she may go crazy. Hazel is not one for hospitals and prefers to be out and about, free of the constraints of something like a medical facility. There was nothing wrong with her, she didn't have any mental illnesses. The second reason dealt more with Prehistoric Park. Nigel knew that what the doctor wanted to do was for the scientific community, plus for some reason, he felt that it was also for a selfish reason. If the scientific community delved too much into this subject, then it was only a matter of time before Prehistoric Park would be exposed to the public. They may weasel answers out of her, or they may track her down after she's discharged from the hospital.

Nigel shook his head in disagreement. "No, I'm sorry. I'm going to have to decline."

Dr. Cantrell stared at him in shock. "What? But why? This is a scientific discovery! Her brain is the key to unlocking more secrets about human learning and language! If studied enough, then we may have the cure to solving a multitude of mental illnesses!"

"That sounds promising, but I'm going to have to say no."

The doctor relaxed in his seat and kept a calm composure. "Come now, from one scientist to another, wouldn't you want to pursue a golden opportunity such as this? Think about it, young Hazel here could a breakthrough for global medicine! Besides, she won't have to stay here for long. I just want to run a couple of tests on her."

He then leaned forward while keeping eye contact with him. His stare pierced Nigel, as if he were staring into his soul. "Unless you're hiding something that I don't know."

Nigel tensed up at that statement. This guy was definitely going into something that he shouldn't. It was like he was a drug addict that desperately needed more nicotine. And information about Hazel's brain and pretty soon Prehistoric Park were like the drugs. The man schooled himself to appear calm.

"No I'm not. It's just that Hazel has already gone through enough. Surprising her with the news of staying here longer just to run a few tests would be something she would be against. Besides, we have places to go after this; we do need to continue our research after all."

"Oh yes yes yes, I know," he agreed half-heartedly. "But like I said, she won't be here for long. I insist she stays. She is a breakthrough for science, and a number of us would want to learn more about her."

Nigel eyed the man with suspicion. The smile he was giving off, the pleading eyes, the lighthearted tone in his voice, he knew of those. As a scientist himself, he would know when a person wanted to chase after a golden opportunity for science. They would do anything to get their hands on that one thing that would aid their research.

Dr. Cantrell was just that person. He WANTS Hazel for something. And to Nigel, it looks like he may want it for his own gain. He could deny him for all he wants, but if he kept it up, then the situation would only get worse. Trying to shake him off of the subject would not even work either.

Hazel can't stay here. That much he knew. If he, Bob, and Marcus needed to haul her body onto their chopper in the middle of the night to prevent that from happening and risk getting turned over to the authorities, then so be it. But they needed a plan, and one very soon. For now, there was this doctor to contend with.

Reluctantly, he nodded. "Very well."

The 30 year old medic smiled. "I'm glad you see it my way. Now, once she wakes up, I would like to break the news to her."

The park keeper shook his head, but reassured him with a smile. "No need. I'll tell her myself."

Dr. Cantrell nodded and then stood up. "Alright then. Well, I have more work that needs to be done, so if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way."

He then extended a hand for another handshake. Promptly, Nigel accepted it with his own and returned the gesture.

"Pleasure speaking with you Nigel."

With that said, both zoologist and doctor left the office. Dr. Cantrell went to the left while Nigel went in the opposite direction. If he had the chance to observe the doctor a bit more closely before they left, Nigel would have noticed a devilish smile on his face. But there was no need to observe; he felt it in his gut.

He pondered the idea of breaking Hazel out of the hospital as he made his way back to the hospital room. And more importantly, he needed a way to snatch that file from Dr. Cantrell plus a way to delete everything he had on the database about Hazel. The helicopter situated on the roof can't stay there for long, so it would have to be moved elsewhere. This meant sneaking Hazel out would be slightly more difficult.

"We need more factors for that to work…" Nigel muttered after turning a corner. The room he was headed to was just down the hall. "We need someone to break into the system and cover our tracks. We need-"

"NIGEL!" He heard someone scream for his name.

The man looked up from his musings and saw Bob running towards him in a hurry. The expression he had was that of disbelief and shock. The park keeper stopped before him and grabbed his knees, gasping for air. The whole event attracted a few of the passing doctors, nurses, and other patients, but they did not pay any mind to it for long. They thought it was none of their concern so they went about their business.

"Bob, what is it?"

Said keeper looked up at him and then stood up straight. "It's Hazel."

Nigel tensed up again. Adrenaline began to rush through his veins at the mention of her name. Was she having a seizure? Did something bad happen to her?

"What? What happened?" He urged him for an answer.

Bob did not show him a face of worry or shame, but rather one of happiness. "She's waking up!"

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The first thing Hazel saw was white. Just...pure white. The air felt cool and the ground she lay on was soft. She felt like she was floating through a void. Her body refused to move, like something was anchoring her down.

" _Am I dead?"_ She thought to herself.

Her theory was debunked when she heard the soft beeping sounds. Beep...Beep...that was what it sounded like. Like something was panging in her ear. She blinked once, and for a moment, her vision was a haze.

Then, her sight began to clear. Instead of being in a void of white, she found that she was staring up at a white concrete ceiling. The ground that she thought she was laying on turned out to be a bed. She found herself under two layers of blankets with her arms lying over them. She had a tube imbedded on her right arm that was connected to some kind of tall stand with a tannish looking slurry. There was also one of those other tubes on her nostrils. Her left arm also had a similar tube, except instead of being connected to a stand with a tan liquid, it was connected to another stand with a clear liquid.

Hazel looked to her left when she heard another beep. Turns out, the beeping was coming from a heart monitor. The red zig-zag lines she saw represented her own heartbeat. The numbers and waves were going steady; a sign of a healthy person.

"Hazel? Hazel you okay?" She heard someone say.

She looked to her left and saw the form of Marcus standing next to her bed. Her eyes widened all the way by the time she gazed at him.

"Uh...I think...so…" she said groggily.

"Here, let me prop you up," she heard him say. She watched him bend down and press a certain button on that side of the bed. Once he pressed the desired buttons, the top half of the bed slowly began to rise up. In a matter of seconds, she was sitting up in a better position.

The girl then got a better view of the room. It was a typical hospital room; there was a dresser, a TV, a lounge area off to the side with a view of the city, a bathroom, all of that. The doorway leading into the hallway was also to her right.

"Where are we?" Hazel asked the engineer. She then looked down and noticed that her right arm was wrapped in a cast and was carried in a sling. She also saw that she was dressed in a light green hospital gown.

"Wits Gordon Medical Centre in Johannesburg," he simply stated.

"Ugh...my mind's all a haze," she groaned as she put her left hand on her forehead.

"Do you remember anything Hazel?"

She groaned again. A headache was starting to form from lying down for so long. At least, that was what she kept thinking. "Not much. I remember...the meteor, Aladar collapsing from burns and the vets coming to take him away, the herd…"

Her eyes widened in realization. She still remembered everything. In fact, she remembered why she was in a hospital. "Then I was injured, sent plummeting towards a lake, my chest hurting, my head burning, getting hauled out, and then...nothing."

"You were injured by one of the _Iguanadons_ from that herd you and Nigel rescued. Looked like you were in some kind of argument. You were crying a lot too," he explained.

Hazel looked down onto her left hand, which now lay on her lap. She remembered everything; the herd finding out that she knew of the Fireball, her outbursts against Nero, and breaking Flia's heart. Flia...thinking of that name was like having a knife go through her. She remembered her teary face when she found out the truth. Just thinking of that again made Hazel want to break down and cry.

At the same time, she thought of the one creature that ruined her relations with the herd and her friends. Fury built up within her towards the scarred dinosaur. He used Flia to attack her and exposed the truth to the herd in a most unforgiving way.

"Nero," she hissed his name. "He did this to me."

"Nero? The green _Iguanodon_?" Marcus guessed.

Hazel was about to reply when she realized that she accidentally let an identity of one of the herd members slip. She started to panic when she found out she was revealing her secret of talking to the prehistoric creatures. Carefully, she schooled herself to make it look like nothing happened.

"Forget it. It's nothing," she dismissed the thought.

That was when Marcus gave her a stern look. "Hazel, it's okay. Nigel told me, Bob, and Suzanne about your secret. Don't worry, we're not judging you."

The girl let out a breath. She didn't realize that she even holding one in. If Nigel had told them their secret, then it would seem that she has nothing to hide. She knew of Marcus, and of course Bob and Suzanne. They were like family to her too. If Nigel already told them, then she might as well reveal some too.

She nodded shakily. "Yeah. He's the reason why I'm in this room, the reason why the herd now hates me, the reason why my friends have turned against me!" She screamed out and slammed her left hand on the bed.

"Hazel, calm down. You just woke up and your injuries are still fresh," the engineer reasoned with her. "Getting stressed now won't do much good."

Hazel was about to retort when she heard the door open. Both park members turned their heads towards the doorway and caught sight of two familiar men stepping into the room. Hazel relaxed when she watched Nigel and Bob take their places around her; with Bob on her left and Nigel on her right.

"Hazel!" Nigel hollered and immediately went in to hug her. His arms suddenly wrapping around the poor girl startled her. His grip was even a bit tight, which caused her to gasp in pain.

"Nigel...that hurts…" she gagged in pain.

"Oops, sorry," he apologized and backed off, allowing her to gasp for air. The pain in her chest receded and she sat back up.

"Hazel you really need to stop scaring us," Bob joked.

The young woman let out a single breath and smirked. "Can't help it. How long was I out?"

"You were out for a week. And you're just fresh out of surgery too," Nigel told her. Hearing that caused Hazel to eye him in surprise.

"One week!? Was I in some kind of coma!?"

Nigel gravely nodded. As a result, the Asian fell quiet. She had been out for an entire week in this hospital. It was no surprise for her to react like that.

"Your brain got fried when your communicator short-circuited after you hit the water. As a result, you fell into a coma. The damage done on both your body and your brain was pretty extensive. The doctors here were starting to think you wouldn't last a night. And yet, here you are, healthy as ever," Nigel explained thoroughly, according to what he was told by Dr. Cantrell.

"My God…" Hazel uttered, traumatized by what she had just heard.

"That green _Iguanodon_ did a number on your ribcage. It was so bad that the doctors needed to perform surgery on you to apply some plates and bolts. It was a miracle that your organs were still intact," he continued.

Once again, rage built up within her. Nero had done this to her. Basically, he almost killed her. And it was her fault too. If she had told the herd sooner about the Fireball, then none of this would have happened. Yet, her fear of losing the trust of those she cared about got in the way of protecting the herd. Hazel was angry at Nero...and herself.

"What happened Hazel? Why did that thing attack you?" Bob asked her, breaking his silence.

She closed her eyes in shame. Bringing that up again made her want to cry. The emotional injury done to her from the herd and Nero's accusations was worse than her physical ailments.

"Nero, the _Iguanodon_ you're wondering about, found out that I knew about the Fire...I mean, meteor. He exposed me to the herd as a liar...and made me an outsider to them. He turned them...and my friends against me."

Hazel sighed and continued on with her with her story. "I was too afraid to tell the herd about the meteor. They already went through so much last year; walking through endless deserts, facing starvation and dehydration, suffering under the tyrannical rule of a ruthless leader, and constantly being tailed by predators. This is all my fault…"

Nigel shook his head and placed a hand on hers. "No Hazel. It's not."

"Yeah," Marcus agreed, prompting her to look at him. "Shit happens. And that guy is a douche for accusing you that way. You saved their lives and he didn't see it that way."

The girl felt like giggling when the engineer put it that way. Marcus was funny at times, and saying that cheered her up from her depression, if only for a moment.

"Besides, no use in wallowing in the past. Just move forward; apologize to your friends and make amends."

Hazel scoffed at that and looked away in shame. "Yeah easier said than done," she said sarcastically.

Just then, a rustling was heard just below Bob's direction. All of them looked at the keeper first and then at the bag that was by his feet. Muffled sounds were heard from his sack and the bag shook from side to side.

"Bob, what is that?" Marcus questioned him.

The bald man looked confused for a moment, but then remembered why had the bag in the first place. "Oh right! I completely forgot! There's a reason why I brought this bag."

He bent down and brought the bag up and hoisted it onto the bed. The sudden impact of the bag did nothing to affect the bed, but it did surprise the trio. The bag still kept moving and the muffled sounds continued to get louder.

"Poor blokes must be suffocating in there," he said while unzipping the largest pocket.

When the zipper made its way through the tracks, two mammals popped out of the carrying compartment, gasping for air. Seeing these two creatures surprised Hazel big time. The larger one was a yellow-furred primate with golden eyes and messy hair. The other was of the same species, except smaller and had white and brown fur. Like the partner, this one also had yellow eyes.

"Ah finally! Some fresh air!" The older lemur exclaimed in joy.

"Couldn't breathe in there!' The female seconded.

Hazel sat there, dumbfounded at the sight. Here, right in front of her, were two creatures that she did not expect to see today. Why were they here? How did they bypass the barrier? All of those questions were going through her head. What's more was that she could actually understand them!

"These guys were begging to come with us. Wouldn't stop their pleading, chattering, jumping, all of that! Nigel here told me they were close to you, so I assumed they wanted to see you," Bob told her.

"Yeah...I can see that," she uttered.

"Hi Hazel!" Suri called and jumped on her in an embrace. The girl yelped in surprise at the sudden action. The next one to do so was Zini, which caused her to do the same.

"Zini? Suri? What're you doing here? How did you get passed the barrier?" She spoke in one breath.

"Oh it was easy! We practically begged this guy here to let us come along," the matriarch's brother stated and pointed at Bob with a thumb. He did not know what a barrier was, but he paid no mind to it. "Just kept at it until he relented. Piece of cake."

"Okay…" Hazel said slowly, still taking in the fact that she could still understand them. "Nigel? Didn't you say that communicator broke?"

Nigel became confused when he heard that. Of course the communicator was broken. Why would she be asking something like that? He was the one that took it off of her when she was hauled onto land last week. Unless…

"Yes? It's right here too," he told her, bringing said object out from his pocket.

"If the communicator's right there," she said while eyeing the object in the man's hand. "And it's broken, then how come I can still understand these guys?"

Hearing that from the one person that suffered from a coma and a blow to the ribcage really surprised the three men. Yes, she is the only one who LITERALLY spoke to the prehistoric animals in the past, but how can she be speaking to them now if the one object that allows her to do so is broken!? Bob and Marcus stared at her dumbfounded and looked as if they were starting to go crazy.

"Well that's a surprise," Marcus blurted out.

Nigel cleared his throat. He was surprised as well, but not as much as his two associates. From the meeting he had with Dr. Cantrell, he started to piece together some kind of theory on Hazel's new power. Once he had his thoughts straight, he announced it to them all.

"I think I have a theory. When I met with Dr. Cantrell just a few minutes ago, he's the doctor in charge of your surgery, he showed me a few scans of your brain. Now I'm not a medical expert, but your before picture showed less brain activity than the normal human being. But when he showed me the current status of your brain...well let's just say your Wernicke's area is working more than usual."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Wait what?"

"Your Wernicke's area is the part of your brain the controls language comprehension. The shocks that organ went through from your near-death experience in the lake somehow supercharged it. What's more is that after a few days, your brain status started going back to normal, as if nothing happened."

Hazel, like Nigel, was not too informative about anatomy. In fact, that was one of her worst subjects in high school. However, her mentor's explanation made it easier for her to understand. And she understood it clearly.

"What's he saying?" Zini asked the human before them. "All I heard was blah blah brain and worms in keys."

"He's saying…" Hazel started slowly. "I can understand you without my communicator."

"Huh?" Suri stared at her in confusion. "What does that mean?"

The girl shook her head, not wanting to confuse them any further. "Nothing. Why are you here? Aren't you aware of what's happened? Of what I've done?"

The male primate shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah we know. But some of us don't see it that way. Sure we lost our home, and mostly everyone is pretty ticked, especially Yar. But you helped everyone get out in time!"

"Yeah! Oh by the way, this is from the whole clan!" The adolescent lemur said as she made her way back towards Bob's bag.

Suri's body went halfway into the odd carrying case and then came back out. In her hands was a bouquet full of yellow flowers with red centers. Hazel knew of those flowers, as they grew on some parts of the valley. According to some research she did, they were wild hibiscus flowers. The staff of Prehistoric Park planted a few wild flowers around the valley a couple of years back to make it more beautiful.

"Suri...Zini...I don't know what to say," Hazel mouth quivered into a small smile and her eyes became watery.

"Meh don't say anything. Consider that as a thank you for saving our butts," Zini said nonchalantly.

A tear fell from Hazel's left eye. Instinctively, she used her left wrist to wipe it off. "Thanks guys."

"Seems like you've got some friends that still stick up for you," Bob mentioned offhandedly. He didn't understand anything they were saying, but he could sense the sympathetic feelings from half of the conversation.

The woman smiled and placed the flowers on her lap. She had no words to say about what her friends had done. For the first time, after all the heartache that she had been through, she felt happy, even though it was only for a moment.

"Well enough about that," the scruffy lemur dismissed and jumped backwards onto the end of the bed. "Now that mushy-gushy stuff is out of the way, I think I have a right to say that this is the trippiest cave ever!"

Right when he said that, he started to jump around the room, observing every object, nook and cranny. Suri, wanting to explore as well, hopped towards the television that was hanging from the ceiling. Zini got curious as well and went over to said object. He used the nightstand as a platform and effortlessly jumped for the appliance. Zini grabbed hold of one of the straps hanging down from the sides of the TV and from the ceiling stand. His jumps created little pangs and thumps on the appliance.

"Whoa! This is the weirdest rock I've ever seen!" He commented and peered down into the screen.

"I'll say!" Suri agreed and looked up at the peculiar human object.

Hazel giggled at the sight. Even the men around her were entertained by the lemurs inspecting the appliance.

"That's not a rock you guys. It's called a television," she told them.

"What's a television?" The preteen lemur asked her.

"It's something we humans use as a form of entertainment."

Suri then hopped back onto Hazel's bed. She enjoyed the feel of the covers and the softness of the mattress. The lemurs were accustomed to hard ground, trees, logs, and even rocks. But this was the first time they had ever been on something that was softer than all of those. The little lemur jumped up and down in joy, revelling in the comfiness of the bed.

"This is the softest tree I've ever been on!" Suri said with a laugh.

Again, Hazel let out a giggle. "It's not a tree Suri. This is called a bed. It's what we humans sleep on."

"Oh," she immediately stopped jumping and looked at the bedridden human. "What about that thing you used when we were travelling to the Nesting Grounds?"

"That was a sleeping bag. It's...kind of like a portable bed."

"You humans have a ton of odd stuff you use," Zini harmlessly remarked. "Whoa! What's that!?"

Said lemur hopped from the television set over to the window at the edge of the room. He stared in awe at the city of Johannesburg in the distance. Suri got curious as well and joined him at his side. To the lemurs, it was like looking at some freaky island. The trees were not brown or green, but came in all shapes in colors. Black was the most common. What was even odder about them was the fact that they had no branches or leaves. They were also really tall, as if they were able to touch the clouds.

Surrounding the island were smaller, more sparse structures. Some of them, the lemurs couldn't even describe, but they could see that they were flatter than the tall ones in the distance. They also noted the moving metal creatures on the ground, similar to the one Nigel used to go around their Nesting Grounds.

The humans watched as the lemurs observed the faraway city. To them, they looked like children that were learning to walk for the first time.

"Wow...check out that island!" Suri exclaimed. "Those are some really big trees!"

"That's no island, my friends. And those aren't trees either. That...is the city of Johannesburg," Hazel told them.

"Johannesburg?" The female lemur asked.

"What's a city?" Zini went next.

"A city is a place where a large amount of humans live in. And by humans, I mean a LOT of humans. A city is where humans work, play, and go about their daily lives. It's much more clustered and packed than living in a valley," Hazel defined in a way for them to understand. She knew that the lemurs would be asking a ton of questions, and she was okay by it.

"Do herds live there?" Suri wondered.

The human scratched the back of her head with her left hand. "Um...no. It's mostly for humans. Sorry."

" _Though there are animals there too,"_ she mused to herself. _"Dogs, cats, birds, cockroaches…"_

The lemurs looked down in disappointment, but it only lasted for a moment. They returned their gaze to the outside world and continued to observe it.

Nigel enjoyed the sight of the lemurs exploring the surroundings, but he knew that there was an underlying problem at this time. He needed to tell Hazel about what was going to happen soon, and his solution to it. Wanting to inform her, he tapped her on the shoulder and attracted her attention.

"I hate to ruin this reunion, but we've got a problem."

Hazel frowned when he mentioned that underlying word. "What is it?"

"Remember the doctor that I mentioned before? The one that was in charge of your surgery?" He told her.

"Yeah? Dr. Cantrell right?"

The park creator nodded. "He wants to keep you here longer so that he can run tests on your brain. Your brain chemistry and the enhanced recovery period interested him so much that he wants to use you for his research."

She looked at him as if he were going nuts. "That...doesn't really sound terrible."

"Nigel, are you worrying about nothing?" Marcus inquired him with an accusing glare. "What's the problem with him doing a little experiment on her?"

"The problem is that Dr. Cantrell is going into something that shouldn't be messed with. Think about it; if he runs some tests on her, then pretty soon, he'll find out about her newfound ability to talk to some animals," he told them all with urgency. Even that was attracting the attention of the lemurs, who were eyeing them with curiosity.

Hearing her mentor say that made Hazel start to worry. True, she had heard of some people known as animal whisperers around the world, but her ability was something unnatural. If the scientific community could find a way to replicate her ability, then the whole world would be able to be like her. And what if the tests fail? There would be a chance that she would be marked as some kind of freak, which is something she would be called when she gets back to Prehistoric Park. That she could deal with. But the world?

"Not only that, but if he goes deep in this, then it's only a matter of time before Prehistoric Park is exposed to the world. That guy might follow us or do something that will make Hazel spill our secret," Nigel warned them all.

Now Hazel was concerned. Like Nigel, she did not want her home to become some kind of tourist attraction. She also didn't want her friends to be attractions to 7.4 billion people on the planet. Thoughts of the movie Jurassic World rushed into her mind. The capitalism was something she frowned up. The animals in that movie looked like they were being tortured, at least, that was what she felt. The creatures she and the other staff members in Prehistoric Park rescued would be happier with minimal human contact.

"Okay Nigel...you've got my attention," Bob stated.

"Mine too," Marcus went next.

"Prehistoric Park is our home and our secret. Everyone there just isn't ready for it to be exposed to the outside world," Hazel stated. "What do we do?"

"I've got a plan," Nigel told them and then turned his attention to the lemurs on the windowsill. "And that includes you two."

The lemurs and humans gathered around each other and listened in on the man's plan to escape this place. Nigel always came up with crazy plans, even when he's in the past trying to rescue animals. But this was the first time they had to do something crazy in a packed medical facility. Well, they did deal with carnivorous animals in the past, whether it be chasing them down or being chased by them. How bad could breaking out of a hospital be?

 _Tada! Chapter 12 is done! Wow...things are about to get crazy :P. Now that the lemurs are in on this plan Nigel has, things are about to get even messier xD. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for the next one._


	13. Hospital Escape

Hazel awoke to the sound of a timer. Her eyes snapped open as if a soda can was ready to be drunk. The girl immediately grabbed the screaming phone that was buried under the covers next to her and activated it. With a press of a button, the screen blinked to life, revealing the time. It was 6:45 AM, June 19. The time when she was supposed to wake up and the day when she would leave the hospital.

Her phone did get waterlogged when she nearly drowned in the lake. However, Marcus managed to repair it within a couple of days. Thanks to his expertise in technology, Hazel was able to use all of the functions on her fully repaired phone, including the alarm clock app.

To her left, snuggled under the covers of her blanket, were a barely awake Zini and Suri. The two lemurs let out gasps and sat up straight at the sound of the beeping. They looked around frantically for the source, which led them to the human they slept next to. Hazel pressed a certain option on her phone and silenced the device, turning the alarm off.

"Whoa!" Zini exclaimed. "What was that!?"

"Our cue to leave," Hazel simply said.

"Now?" Suri softly uttered as she let out a large yawn. "But it's so early…"

The young Asian smirked at that. "You can rest when we get back to the park. But right now, we need to get out of here."

With that said, she flipped the warmth of the covers away from herself and the lemurs. The sudden flap of wind startled the mammals, but not so much on Hazel. Zini and Suri leapt off of the curious soft rock as they called it and on to the stool nearby. The stool contained Hazel's bag, which had the food, water, flowers from the lemur clan, her father's dagger, the prescribed painkillers, and the dinosaur book she had been reading earlier.

Hazel was well-prepared for this day. She took the liberty of dressing up into the clothes that Suzanne had kindly packed for her when Nigel, Marcus, and Bob visited the day before. She was now wearing a purple V-neck T-shirt, denim shorts, white ankle socks, her ring choker and bracelet. Her broken right arm was still covered in a solid blue mesh cast and was hanging on a sling from her shoulder.

Quietly, she slid down the hospital bed and onto the cold white tile floor. When her feet made contact, she stifled a yelp. Even through her socks, she could feel that the floor was cold. Hazel slid her feet into the black and pink sneakers and prepped them while the lemurs watched the door quietly. She then stifled a groan as a sharp pain went up her arms and torso. Her wounds were still fresh from Nero's beating. Even with the bracer that she now wears under her shirt and the painkillers she took a few hours ago, she could still feel the pain. Nevertheless, she kept moving, as she needed to escape the hospital.

The room was illuminated by the dim glow of the outside. The windows were covered by the cloth blinds, but she knew that it was dawn. The sun had not risen yet, but the soft shades of blue permeated through the room. Just as Nigel, Bob, and Marcus had told her, this time was the best for sneaking out of the hospital, as there was almost no one in the vicinity.

Right when Hazel finished preparing her shoes onto her feet, two soft knocks were heard from the door. The lemurs jumped a little at the sound of that and became nervous. The future park leader, on the other hand, had the guts to go and check to see who it was. Quietly, she approached the door, put her hand on the cold, slender handle, and pulled it towards her.

The girl peered through the recently made opening. At first, her eyes were filled with tension, as she feared it would be the doctor coming to take her to be tested. True, she had never seen him before, or met him. But she was still worried.

Hazel relaxed when she saw that it was not the greedy physician. Instead of the Dr. Cantrell, it was the familiar form of a bald man wearing a dark green polo.

"Oh Jesus…" she let out an exasperated sigh. "It's just you Bob."

"Hazel, you ready?" he simply asked.

The girl went back towards the bed and gathered all of her supplies. She stuffed her now silent phone into her bag and made sure that all of her things were accounted for before heading back towards the door. Using her left hand only was a challenge, but she managed to get everything ready within a good amount of time. Zini and Suri looked at each other before hopping close behind her.

"All set," Hazel nodded and slung the bag over her shoulder.

At that statement, Bob slowly opened the door the rest of the way. He held his breath the whole time as he did not want the door to make any creaks. Thankfully, it made none which caused him to let out a sigh of relief.

Next to Bob was Nigel, who wore his usual attire but had a black travelling bag with him on his back. He also had a blue leather wheelchair right in front of him, which was meant for the still wounded Hazel. The man wheeled it close to her and prompted her to get on it.

"You don't have to tell me twice," she whispered as she set herself down on it. The girl then placed her bag on her lap and positioned her feet on the rests.

When that happened, the lemurs first climbed up the wheelchair then made their way up on to her lap. The mammals stared up at the park creator silently, waiting for their instructions.

"Zini, Suri, you both ready?" Nigel inquired. He knelt down to get at the lemurs' level.

"All set captain," Zini replied with a nod. Except for Hazel, the men only heard soft chatters and squeaks from the yellow-furred primate.

"Ready too," Suri went next.

"If I got the gist of that," the man with the blue shirt and vest guessed. "The both of you said yes. Now Marcus has just told me that Dr. Cantrell is making his way to the break room above us. We need to hurry if we're going to get that file. You remember what you need to do?"

Both lemurs nodded and hopped on to Nigel's shoulders. Nigel let a quiet gasp then chuckled as the lemurs positioned themselves on him. He stood up slowly while making sure the ancient primates kept their balance on him.

Last night, it took them some time to understand the details of the plan. Hazel had to translate what they were saying and at the same time tell the lemurs what was what in her world, or to be specific, in this hospital.

"I still can't believe these guys can understand plain English," Bob muttered.

Hazel rolled her eyes and shook her head playfully. However, her mood changed when she thought about whether she could contribute to this escape mission. True, she still sustained the wounds that she received from Nero, but she wanted to help out as much as she could. Like NIgel and everyone else, she did not want anyone, including this greedy doctor, from delving too much into her newfound ability to speak to prehistoric creatures. If he found out too much, then it would only be a matter of time before Prehistoric Park is exploited to the outside world.

"Nigel, I know that given the circumstances I'm in, my wounds would hinder my movements. But is there anything else I can do?"

Nigel shook his head at that. "No Hazel. You're wounded. It would be best if you sit this one out. You need rest and if you participate in this, your injuries would only get worse. Besides, you've already done a lot."

Hazel frowned at that and looked down in shame. She wanted to help out, but her friend was right. Given the state she's in, she would only slow them down.

"Don't worry Hazel," the young female lemur added in an attempt to cheer her up. "We've got this. Just sit back and relax."

The young trainee sighed and nodded. "Alright. You guys be careful then."

Nigel let out a breath and turned away towards the other end of the hallway. However, before he proceeded to leave the duo, he turned around to give them one last word.

"Bob, if I do not make it back to the chopper within the hour, then all of you have to go to Prehistoric Park without me," he told them. He then diverted his attention to the lemurs on his shoulders. "The same goes for you two."

"What!?" His student objected in a slightly louder tone. Apparently she was not aware of this part of the plan. "No! We're not leaving without you."

Nigel shook his head again. "No Hazel. What's important is that you get back to Prehistoric Park. If all else fails, I'll just run off with the file and burn it. Marcus will take care of the data Dr. Cantrell stored in the hospital database. I'll be fine."

The girl fell silent at that and thought for a moment. This was just like the time when Aladar had left her and the rest of her friends at the Nesting Grounds when they discovered the landslide blocking the main entrance to the valley. Once again, she was being left behind. And there was nothing she could do about it.

Hazel exhaled and forced a smile on him. "Okay."

"Alright," Nigel acknowledged and then turned his attention to the park keeper then to the lemurs. "Bob, get her to Marcus. Zini, Suri, let's do this."

With that said, the small team of misfits parted ways and proceeded with their part of the plan. Nigel quietly passed by the other occupied rooms towards the nearest staircase while Bob pushed the injured Hazel in the other direction. All of them felt the adrenaline rush through their veins as they prayed for the success of this mission.

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5 minutes later…

7th floor of Wits Gordon Medical Centre

The young Caucasian doctor strolled nonchalantly down the hall as if there was not a care in the world. He passed a few other doctors and nurses who were going about their business in the early morning, whether it be tending to new patients to their rooms, preparing for operations, or getting ready to clock out of their night shifts. A few of them greeted him politely as he passed, but he did not return the greeting. As usual, he never does. The other coworkers never liked him, as he only cared about himself and no one else.

The hallway was nearly devoid of hospital employees. However, there were numerous objects that were in the way; mobile computers, some wheelchairs, gurneys standing by, and there was even one cart that had food under a few covers.

Like the previous floors, this floor was designated for patients and hospital operations. During the early hours, the area is almost devoid of any business. However, during the day, it would be packed. It may still be early morning now, but it will get busy later. That was something that would not favor the members of Prehistoric Park.

Nearby, hidden behind a corner at the very end of that same hallway, was Nigel and the lemurs. They watched the doctor walk towards the break room just a ways from where they were while making sure no one else saw them. They observed the 30 year old man make his way to the reception desk and walk inside. The reception desk was pretty enclosed, unlike the other desks in hospitals. It looked more like a ticket office in a movie house as there were window openings at the front where people could ask the receptionist for information. The added security was necessary, as this hospital did not want to take any chances with crime due to its high rank standing.

The security was also there for a reason. The reception desk on this floor also stored a number of files for the operations performed here. From there, they saw Dr. Cantrell stand in front of the reception window and lay the object of their mission on to the table. They could not see it very well, as it was obstructed by the milling of the other employees and the surrounding wall of the reception office, but they did make out a yellow folder containing a small amount of paper.

Zini and Suri were more fascinated by what was happening around them rather than wary of the situation they were in. They marveled at the various objects in this place, including the other humans. They wanted to inquire Nigel about their surroundings, however, they could not as saving their friend was more important and that they could not bypass the language barrier with him.

After a few minutes, they saw the prime target leave the enclosed office. The medic made his way out of their view by turning left. Nigel grabbed for his phone in his pocket and performed the functions needed to text the offsite engineer.

 **Nigel** : Bogey has left the vicinity.

 **Marcus** : Got it. I see him making his way towards the break room. Most likely to get a bite to eat or some coffee to drink. You probably have at most 10 minutes.

 **Nigel** : Making our move now.

With the last text message now sent, the head of Prehistoric Park made his move. Stealthily, he made his way towards the reception office. Every time a passing doctor at the hallway would turn to see him, he would quickly get into one of the rooms and stay there until they would leave. Sometimes, he had to cower behind a few objects just to avoid being seen. Normally, he would not use this much stealth, but he did not want to be seen with Zini and Suri. Pets were not really allowed in this hospital unless the visitors had a permit. Since the lemurs were not that, he needed to lie low. If anyone saw them, then the mission would be jeopardized by a paparazzi wanting to have an encounter with the ancient primates.

It did not take very long for them to reach the reception desk. The window was already open, but the maximum height for the sliding portion reached only halfway up the whole window. The lemurs and the man peered inside and noticed the target file just lying on the lower part of the desk before them. It was positioned a couple of feet from the window to Nigel's right. He attempted to reach over to it, but failed to grab the folder as it was too far away. The neighboring window was closed as well. They did not have time to open it. But that did not stop them.

"Zini, Suri, I want you to grab that thing I was trying to get. I can't fit through this window, but you both can," he told them without making eye contact.

"Say no more," the male primate acknowledged. His response came in the form of soft chatters. "We'll grab it."

Zini and Suri hopped from Nigel's back and onto the windowsill. He then turned around and started glancing at the area, keeping an eye on anything that comes towards them. The two of them looked around at their new surroundings, awestruck by the curious objects that dotted the office. The young female's curiosity piqued when she caught sight of a nearby coffee mug. She sniffed the air and discovered that it was coming from the white and blue shiny stone object.

"Whoa...what is that?" Her face beamed when she started to examine the cup. The numerous flower designs and the smooth texture fascinated the youngster that she started to sniff around it.

"Huh...I don't know…" Zini said offhandedly and began to make his way towards his niece. Suri was about to dip a finger in to taste the peculiar liquid when they heard Nigel stop them.

"Zini! Suri!" He forcefully whispered as he had caught them in the act. He knew full well that most things that humans eat would not be good for lemurs. He did not want to risk getting these two sick after all. "Don't drink that! And now's not the time for sightseeing!"

The two lemurs groaned and pulled away from the intriguing object. They made their way over to the yellow flat wood thing as they called it, just as the man had instructed them to. However, like with the coffee mug, they were fixated on its appearance.

"Huh...so this is the thing that got Nigel so riled up? What did he say that was so important about it?" Zini wondered.

"I don't know, but we really need hurry. That weird human will be back soon," Suri told her uncle.

The duo positioned themselves on opposite sides of the folder and quickly lifted it up. They were surprised when they found it to be so light. Gingerly, they hopped their way to Nigel, who had his hand outstretched to them.

"Come on…" he muttered as his adrenaline started to spike with nervousness. "Just a little more."

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening was heard just north of their position. The lemurs froze in place as they listened to the sound of footsteps and that same door slamming shut. Nigel stared in that general direction and his blood ran cold.

"Bloody hell, he's coming."

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Dr. Cantrell strolled down the hallway the same way he did when he first arrived that morning. He had just had his fill of a homemade sausage and egg burrito along with a cup of coffee. A few more doctors and nurses passed him by in the opposite direction towards the break room. The scheming doctor wore a small smile on his face, which caused them to make some double takes.

"Measly doctor today…" he said in a sing-song voice. "Nobel Prize tomorrow."

The man had arrived at the side of the reception desk within two minutes. He dug into his coat pocket and brought out the keys into the room. Effortlessly, he unlocked it and then put them away. He had expected today to be in his favor, but when he opened the large-handled door, he found that luck was not on his side.

His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the two peculiar lemurs on the reception desk. The mammals froze in their tracks and stared at the surprised human. Questions were going through the doctor's mind. How did these lemurs get here? Who let them in? Or more importantly, why were they holding on to his physical proof for a Nobel Prize?

Zini leaned in a little towards his niece and mouthed a single word to her. To the medic, it was a series of chirps and chatters.

"Run," he whispered.

On cue, they both hopped out of the window. The yellow-furred primate raised the folder up like he would a leaf over his head. The two hopped furiously down the hall towards the stairs Nigel took. They avoided oncoming doctors and nurses who were bringing in patients, which greatly surprised them when they were seen.

"Hey! Stop! Get back here!" Dr. Cantrell screamed as he bounded after the runaway primates.

As he chased after the lemurs, he narrowly avoided running into some of the patients with quick turns and maneuvers. However, he failed to see a group of Africans dressed in bright traditional robed clothes coming his way. The man and the family shrieked as they ran into each other, causing all of them to fall on to the floor. The head of the family, which was a dark-skinned man wearing an intricate yellow robe with a turban, rubbed his head as his collided with the doctor's

Cantrell had no sympathy for the family and quickly got up to resume the chase. His head did hurt a little, but that did not stop him. The confused people watched him go as they slowly got back on their feet.

"Get back here you stupid monkeys!" He hollered.

Zini and Suri had managed to get to the stairs. Thankfully, a few other people were using it and the door was wide enough for them to slip through. Hurriedly, they disappeared into the passageway and made their way down the stepped obstacles, with Cantrell hot on their heels.

Dr. Cantrell had managed to get to the stairs and made his way down as well. He pushed the other people aside violently, causing them to yelp and fall down in surprise. Like the others, they groaned and stared at him in anger at his rude behavior.

Nearby, Nigel had witnessed the whole event happen. He had been hiding behind the corner of the wall at the other end of the hallway. He had just texted Marcus of the situation by letting him know that the chase had started. Nigel then made his way down that part of the hall towards the nearest elevator.

"That should keep him busy," Nigel remarked and turned a corner while avoiding a few oncoming white-clad nurses.

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6th floor hallway

Bob pushed the wheelchair-bound Hazel into the elevator once it had arrived at their floor. It took some maneuvering to get the handicap vehicle into position facing the doorway as there were 3 more doctors coming in with them. No doubt that they were off to some other area in the hospital to do their jobs. Bob quickly pressed on the first floor button on the panel, which had a star on the left for the lobby.

The elevator was pretty elaborate in the hospital. The walls were lined with gold with vertical silver stripes all around. Just a few hints of cherry wood were in the spaces at the corners. The walls were so shiny that anyone could use them as a mirror.

The duo stood, or in Hazel's case sat, in silence as the doors of the elevator closed. For a high class hospital, the elevator went pretty slow. Through the speakers on the back ceiling corners, a graceful, piano version of Idina Menzel's _Let It Go_ was playing.

Hazel shifted uncomfortably in her wheelchair. In her mind, she feared that the surrounding doctors may be in cahoots with Dr. Cantrell. After her first and only encounter with him, she had become wary of all in this hospital. Yes, their intentions were to help people, but some of them may be just like him. Like Nigel, she too feared for the safety of Prehistoric Park so long as they remained in that medical center.

Bob himself was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Unlike Hazel, who was schooling herself to hide her nervousness, he was not doing such a good job. He would sometimes glance at the doctors on both sides of the elevator, just to make sure they wouldn't pull a fast one on them. He also began to whistle along with the tune of the song because it was starting to sink into his head.

"So uh…" the park keeper blurted out in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Lovely weather we're having isn't it?"

The doctor on his left, which seemed to be a middle-aged man with graying hair, a white lab coat, black office pants, and a blue polo, replied to that comment. He first glanced at Bob, but then stared at the floor indicators above the door.

"Yes for now. Just wait until this afternoon though," he replied. "Temperatures are going to be reaching the high 80s."

"Ooh...that's hot," Bob commented. "I should have worn shorts for today."

For the rest of the time, the doctors and the Prehistoric Park members waited in silence. They had to do so for at least 3 minutes. Once the elevator stopped at the 4th floor and opened its doors with a ding, the three doctors flooded out, leaving the duo behind. They let out a sigh as they were glad to be alone again.

"Can't this elevator go any faster?" The balding man complained. "The tension in this situation is making my stomach turn."

Hazel said nothing to that. She was in the same page after all. The stress of this whole escape plan did cause her to feel anxious. Every doctor and nurse in the hospital she had to be wary with. They could be working for Dr. Cantrell, and getting forced into a room or going through a plethora of tests were things that Hazel did not want.

"Well...it's nothing like getting chased by a dinosaur. Those situations, you're running for your life. This one's different," Hazel remarked.

Bob let out a gruff snort. "No offense, but I think I'd rather take sneaking out of a medical center than running from a predator that sees me as its meal."

"Do you think this plan will work?" The woman asked him.

The keeper shrugged his shoulders. "I think so. Zini and Suri just have to keep that freaky doctor busy while we make our escape. Shouldn't be too bad."

Hazel looked down in thought. "Yeah. You're right. You think everything's going well?"

Bob glanced at her then at the doors. "Of course. Think of it this way: those lemurs are having the time of their life. Everyone else is doing their part in getting you out of here."

Once he had said that, the light above the doorway illuminated on the first floor. That same dinging from before came back, and the doors slid apart from each other. This hallway was similar to the 6th floor they were just at, except it was more spacious and contained two shops plus a main reception desk.

Bob got behind Hazel and pushed her out of the elevator. Together, they made their way around the incoming people and through other hallways. In no time, they would reach the main reception area.

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Parking Garage nearby the Wits Gordon Medical Center

Marcus never thought that he would participate in an espionage mission. Or rather, in an escape mission at all. He was hired to be an engineer, not a super-spy! Even though the situation was pretty stressful, he actually found it quite exciting.

He sat in one of the back seats in the helicopter. All around him were wires that were hooked up on to his two laptops. In the past, he not only got into a high-ranking business school for his outstanding skills in accounting, but he also got in due to his IT knowledge. The engineer was pretty handy in computers, whether it was for virus scanning, organizing, and the such. Hacking was something that he never thought he would use. He did hack into a few things in the past, but they were only for gaming purposes.

The young employee was working overtime on the computer on his lap. His part of the escape plan was to erase all data collected on Hazel from the database and to mark her as discharged. In other words, he was tasked with covering their tracks digitally. His other task was to make sure that things went swimmingly within the hospital, which was why he had hacked into the security system on the other laptop sitting across from him on a couple of emergency supply cardboard boxes.

The screen on the computer he was working on had the black background with word listings in either green or blue representing some sort of database. Hastily, he typed on his laptop and scrolled down the screen looking for Hazel's name.

"Okay let's see…" he muttered as he typed away.

"Veran...Hazel Veran…where are you?"

A few more clicks on his mouse, scrolling down the screen, and typing on his keyboard had brought him to more people with the same letter on the last name. Many names popped up such as Verano, Vejra, Verash, and even Vermicelli. Marcus thought that was a little humorous as that person's last name was a type of noodle.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of searching, he finally found the person he was looking for. It seemed like hours when in reality, it was actually fifteen minutes.

"Finally!" He exclaimed in satisfaction. He typed in a series of codes to trick the system. In a matter of seconds, the column that marked Hazel as admitted was changed to discharged.

"Okay that was the easy bit. Now for the tricky part," he told himself as he started to hack away into the records database.

While he was in the process of infiltrating the hospital system, he caught sight of some movement from the camera feed on the other laptop. The screens on that laptop would change due to the number of cameras he had to keep an eye on. Thankfully, he only had to watch over the cameras from the seventh floor down.

When he saw the movement of the camera on the top right corner, a smile creased across his face. On the screen, the two lemurs known as Zini and Suri were hopping away from the now furious Dr. Cantrell. They were rampaging through the hallway, causing all sorts of mayhem ranging from bumping into people to accidentally knocking things down. Marcus did feel a little worried for the patients that were in their way, but easily avoided the oncoming "Tom and Jerry" chase thanks to the nurses that accompanied them.

He could clearly see on the camera that Dr. Cantrell was not having a great day. He noticed that his pure white lab coat had some sort of dark stain on the lower left side, meaning that some coffee may have accidentally spilled on him while chasing the lemurs.

The chase went on from that camera to the camera screen below it, which meant that it extended to another part of the floor. At the end of the hallway, he noticed that there was a yellow "Caution: Wet Floor" sign propped up right in front of another infirmary room. The lemurs hopped on to the wet floor and began to slip and slide across it. The taller lemur still held on to the file above his head, but was losing balance as he went from one end of the puddle to another. The younger female lemur next to him was doing the same. Their arms flailed about as they tried to keep their balance.

As for the medic, he was experiencing the same thing by the time he got to that area. He too was flailing his arms and skidding across the floor. The cameras may be silent, but Marcus could tell that they were screaming at the mercy of the slip-and-slide.

By the time they got to the end of the hallway and the puddle, the lemurs had managed to hop out of the way to their left, just before the door to the next room opened. An older looking doctor, this time an African American with a receding hairline, stepped out of the doorway. The man's eyes widened in shock as an incoming Dr. Cantrell collided with the unsuspecting doctor. The two fell over each other; the random doctor was at the bottom and on his back while the Caucasian one was on top of him.

Marcus let out a laugh. It was as if those two were kissing each other like a gay couple. His eyes shut tight and bent over as the feeling of enjoyment went through his body. The engineer gasped and inhaled hard as he could not stop laughing.

"Holy shit!" He giggled. "I should have recorded that!"

By the time he opened his eyes to look at the screen again, he saw that the cameras had changed to the other ends of the hallway. The scene may be gone, but the memory of seeing those two doctors in their compromising position was priceless.

"Well," he sighed, relaxing after that laughing fit. "Good to know that the plan's going smoothly."

The engineer returned his attention back to his laptop and resumed his task of hacking into the hospital records.

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Lobby Area

About 15 minutes later

Bob and Hazel were lost. That much the young girl knew. They had been wandering around the first floor of the hospital for at least fifteen minutes. Almost as if they were going around in a circle. Soon after they had gotten off the elevator, they were challenged with the task of maneuvering their way to the front entrance. Turns out the elevator they were in was at the other side of the medical center.

The hallway they were in was actually partially open. The windows to their right showed the parking lot along with a small view of the city. The sun was rising and the sky was colored a light tangerine.

Unlike the 6th floor, this area was much busier. Employees, visitors, and patients were milling about around them. The ones that were just admitted were either on gurneys and headed towards another one of the elevators, or they were on wheelchairs just like Hazel.

The young woman looked away when she saw the people being admitted in. They had a plethora of injuries or came in due to some other reason. They all stared at her as if she were some sort of outsider. The girl appeared to be healthy, while the others were most likely not. That unnerved Hazel a little, as it brought back the same feelings of resentment from the herd on that day. But she knew that they were only looking at her just because she was coming their way. Hazel wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.

She narrowed her eyes in irritation. "Bob, I think we're lost."

"No we're not," he dismissed her. "We just have to turn this corner and we'll be at the main hallway of the hospital."

"Yeah well I'm betting five dollars that we won't end up at the front."

Sure enough, once they reached that corner and turned right, they saw that it had led into another series of rooms. A number of them were layover rooms, but some of them appeared to be only for recreation, which would explain why some of the other patients were holding some board games or books. The patients and visitors were also milling about here, while Hazel and Bob were rooted in place. Sure enough, they were just here minutes ago.

Nigel's partner in crime looked back at the head keeper with a glare. "I'll have those five dollars please."

Bob knew she was joking. But he did feel frustrated that he had been leading her around in a circle.

"Well, that's three times now. Fourth time's the charm," he said optimistically.

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3rd floor dining center

Zini and Suri hopped onto one of the tables in the hospital's dining hall. They had been running from the mad doctor for at least 20 minutes now. Both lemurs had managed to lose him on one of the previous floors, back when they almost slipped on that unsuspecting puddle of water. It was by sheer luck that they managed to lose him there.

This strange room had a myriad of flat trees with four odd separate appendages surrounding them. Over off to the end of the room was some sort of giant, rectangular hole where some other humans were working. The chefs all wore a white buttoned-up kitchen coat with a typical tall chef's hat. They paid no mind to the lemurs, as they were busy working on something right in front of them. The colors in the room ranged from red to orange to yellow and the shapes on the walls were designed to be some sort of sunset oasis. Next to the freakish giant hole were three stranger looking trees, except they were more rectangular and had weird little suns hanging within them. Even stranger was that there were some strange fluids, foods, and smells coming from the little pits.

This place and time was completely new to them. That much they knew. This "hos-pit-tale" place was no jungle, nor was it a desert. Everything here was a mystery to them. As they outran the human known as Cantrell, they could not help but gawk at the many objects in this time. Or even the number of humans here. But they did not have time to marvel at this new time period. That would have to wait.

"Did...did we lose him?" Suri asked her uncle as she panted.

Zini slammed the yellow folder right in front of them and bent over. He clutched his knees and sighed. "I think so. Man...who knew this place would be so crazy! Humans in white coverings, white trees that move by themselves, so many odd smells, those weird soft things off the ground like the thing we slept on...what was it called again?"

His niece immediately replied to him. "I think Hazel said it was a bed."

"Yeah that thing!" He pointed a finger at her. "Once this is over, Hazel had better give us a proper tour of her world. This whole situation is like having a rock smacked into your face."

"You said it," Suri nodded. She then looked up at the ceiling in thought then back at her uncle. "Hey you think Hazel, Bob, and Nigel made it out? Shouldn't we get out of here to meet them?"

The yellow-furred lemur thought for a moment then replied. "Yeah we probably should. We're way ahead of that crazy human. By the time he recovers, we'll be long gone."

Suddenly, right when he said that, a blur of white appeared from the corner of his eye. Zini gasped and started to slowly reach for the folder in front of him. Suri noticed this and looked behind her, only to get the same reaction as her uncle. Standing just about thirty feet from them was the same human that they had been running from. A scowl was etched on his face and he was breathing pretty hard. His fists were clenched and his eyes burned with fury.

"There you are you little thieves!" He screamed and gave chase again.

"Suri run!" Zini shrieked and hopped away with the folder above his head.

The matriarch's daughter followed suit and jumped from table to table towards the shiny-looking cave with the other humans. Behind them, their "predator" was crashing into the dining chairs and pushing tables aside as he attempted to get closer to them.

"Once I'm through with you," the one known as Jeremy Cantrell hissed under his breath. "I'm going to turn you both into monkey stew!"

That threat reached the ears of the chefs in the kitchen. When they looked up, they could see two primates jumping away from one of the hospital staff. Within a matter of seconds, the lemurs jumped into the kitchen through the serving window, surprising the chefs greatly. THe monkeys landed on one of the counters, just inches in front of a fully active stove with a lot of cooking pots. They looked back to see if their chaser was still after them. Sure enough, he wasn't giving up. He jumped over the counter by using his right arm as momentum and landed just inches before the stove. The chefs yelped in surprise and got out of the way, some of them even got their dishes away from the scene as well.

The lemurs took off into the east part of the kitchen. As Zini and Suri jumped from counter to counter, avoiding other chefs and incoming human food on carts, their enemy was coming in hot on them. Except he kept pushing the chefs aside and knocking carts over.

"Someone grab those monkeys! They're running away with my ticket to fame!" He commanded the cooks around him.

Most of the workers thought he was going nuts. In fact, this whole situation was crazy. A man chasing after two monkeys just for some scientific discovery? This is something that could make the cut on some Youtube spoof. Either that or this could be good on some movie. One of the chefs, a young woman of at least 30 years of age, decided to take out her phone and record the whole event.

She recorded everything; from the lemurs jumping over all of the pots and spilling all of the food, to the chefs freaking out and indefinitely making an even larger mess. Scrambled eggs were being splattered all over the place from the chefs accidentally throwing their pans up, sausages were falling over from the skillets being knocked over from the handles, utensils were being thrown everywhere, pots were falling from the hooks that keep them in place, hot water from the pots were spilling onto the floor and other chefs; it was utter chaos.

"Don't just stand there you idiots!" Dr. Cantrell commanded as he continued to chase after the ancient primates. "Somebody catch them!"

Right when he said that, one of the chefs grabbed an empty metal tray and swung it behind him in an attempt to stun at least one of the lemurs. Unfortunately, the lemurs were too quick and dodged the attack easily; Zini went over the tray while Suri went under it. The mad doctor, however, was right in the way of the tray. His face smashed into the thin metal carrier, breaking his nose in the process.

As if that was not enough, the lemurs had just bypassed another chef that was carrying a huge pot full of breakfast gravy. The cook lost his footing from the passing primates and twirled around in confusion. The pot he was holding was thrown up into the air and started to tip over. Dr. Cantrell, his face now red due to the blunt force of the tray and had streaks of blood coming down his nose, looked up and saw the hot slurry splash on him. His entire body became covered in the breakfast stew and burned from the heat.

Dr. Cantrell let out a scream of both pain and frustration. The cooks instinctively backed away from the furious doctor, fearing that he would try to hurt them for not helping him out. Zini and Suri, now perched on the window into the kitchen, gave him one look before hopping away from the mess.

"Ew...wouldn't want to be him right now," Suri commented.

"He kind of looks like Yar after a day of swimming," her uncle added.

The two giggled at that and hopped away, resuming their part of the mission.

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Back in the helicopter

About 10 minutes later…

Marcus sat wide-eyed as he went through Hazel's file. Anatomy and neurology weren't his strongest suits, but he could see why Dr. Cantrell would want to exploit his discoveries to the rest of the world. His notes on Hazel's wernicke's area having so much activity was pretty interesting. Not only that, but after looking at all of the before and after pictures (plus Hazel's condition when she first got admitted in), he felt pretty stumped on how she even survived that _Iguanodon_ attack.

"Looks interesting…" Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "But it's not my cup of tea."

When he said that, he started typing away again and activated the delete function on his program. A loading bar labeled "deleting files" appeared in the middle of the screen, signaling the elimination process. The loading bar was gradually becoming full though. What he saw was a lot of information, so it would make sense for the process to take a while. 10%...11%...12%...yes it will take a while.

He spent quite some time trying to hack into the database. The firewalls these files had took a lot of work for him to take down. That Dr. Cantrell really didn't want anyone to steal his work, or even delete it. It was all thanks to prior work on computers that Marcus was able to bypass the security system.

As he monitored the files being deleted, he noticed some movement coming towards him. The engineer looked up and saw an exhausted Bob pushing a wheelchair-bound Hazel towards the chopper. Marcus placed his laptop onto the seat next to him, stood up, and went out to meet them.

"Well it's about time!" He hollered with relief. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry for the wait," Bob started as he brought the 20 year old to the door into the air vehicle. "We kind of got lost."

"Courtesy of Bob here," Hazel sarcastically remarked.

"Well at least we're here now."

"What about Nigel?" He asked. "And the lemurs? Where are they?"

"Don't know," the park keeper shrugged his shoulders in doubt. "I thought they were with you."

Marcus groaned and looked at the watch on his left wrist. The time read 7:30 AM. "He and those little fuzzballs have 15 minutes. After that, we'll have to book this place."

Hazel stood up from the wheelchair and marched up to him, fury now in her eyes. Her bag was all that was left on her seat. "No! We're not leaving without them!"

The engineer turned his gaze to the girl. His eyes radiated with some doubt and stress. "You heard the man! If they're not here within the hour, then we have to go without them. Getting you out of there was the important thing."

"Fine!" Hazel yelled and threw her hands up in frustration. "Then we'll just go back and get them!"

Bob went up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. His grip caused her to hiss in pain as she was now becoming very sensitive due to the painkillers wearing off. He forcefully turned her around so that he would glare at her.

"Are you mad!? After all that work we did to haul you out of that place, you're just going to go back in there!?"

"We're not leaving without our friends!" She retorted.

Marcus threw his hands in between the two and separated them both until they were at least a couple of feet from each other. "Knock it off you two! Fighting won't get us anywhere."

He then looked at Hazel with reassurance and sincerity. "Hazel, I know how you feel. I'm worried about them too. Don't worry, they still have time to get here."

Afterwards, he looked at Bob with that same look. "Bob, calm down."

The arguing park employees eyed each other for a moment then looked away in shame. They both apologized and proceeded into the helicopter. Hazel took her place in the vehicle on the seat closest to the door while Bob sat in the seat just adjacent from her. Marcus, on the other hand, returned to his seat with his laptops at his disposal.

He inspected the progress bar on the deletion process. It read 40% complete. Marcus looked back towards the hospital nearby and prayed in his mind for the safety of their friends.

" _Where are you?"_

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Wits Gordon Medical Centre

2nd floor

Zini and Suri gasped for air when they stopped in the middle of the second floor. Down below them was the atrium of the lobby. The view of the lobby was being blocked by some sort of invisible wall with vertical cracks on some parts of it. Humans were milling about their daily business in the area. If the dining room was one of the strangest things they have seen, then this place was just as weird. What kind of cave would be so shiny and clean? Where are the rocks? What is that circular thing in the middle? Why is there a human in the middle? Or more importantly, are they finally rid of that human Dr. Cantrell?

"Okay...I think...we're okay now," Zini sighed and straightened up. He slammed the folder next to him and flopped on his back.

"Not sure...how much longer...I can do this…" Suri panted.

"How in the world do the other lemurs survive in this world?" The matriarch's brother complained. "Did they get wings or something? Where are they!?"

"Maybe they're on another island?" Plio's daughter guessed.

"Well, at least we're rid of that human. Hopefully Hazel's out of here by now."

"End of the line you pesky chimps!" A voice threatened them from behind.

The lemurs slowly turned around and saw a terrifying blob monster. It appeared human, but it was covered in so much white slime that they could not tell if it was or not. The blobs slowly fell from its body and onto the plum-colored carpet. The slits on its face where its eyes and mouth should be scared them to no end. In its hand was a red and brown broom, no doubt it was stolen from one of the janitors. Zini and Suri shivered and started to cower.

"You've caused enough trouble for me. You ruined my favorite outfit, embarrassed me in front of nearly all of the hospital staff, and made me look like a fool! Now you're going to pay..."

Zini and Suri were too exhausted to escape. The chase that this guy had given them had all but drained the energy from their bodies.

"Zini I'm scared," the young female whimpered.

Dr. Cantrell slowly strode forward and raised his broom high. No doubt he wanted to beat the living hell out of the poor helpless creatures. A devious smile creased across his gravy covered face. The breakfast gruel made his evil expression look like he was wearing a haunting mask.

Right when he was about to swat them with the broom, a sudden force of trauma struck his lower neck region. The man looked up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes before collapsing on to the ground in front of them. The lemurs stared at the fallen human then at their savior. A smile appeared on their faces when they saw a familiar human wearing a blue shirt and sleeveless vest. In his hand was a fire extinguisher, which looked like some kind of bright red skinny rock to the lemurs.

"Nigel!" Suri exclaimed in relief.

"Well are you a sight for sore eyes!" Zini cheered by pointing at him for a moment.

To the man's ears, he only heard chatters and squeaks. He did not have a communicator, but he knew that they were thanking him. Nigel placed the extinguisher down next to him and knelt down in front of the primates.

"Sorry about that. Took me a while to find you. Now how about we get out of here?"

He removed the bag he had on his back and placed it in front of the lemurs. He unzipped the large pocket and held it open for them. Zini and Suri looked at each other in uneasiness. They came in to this hospital in a bag like that and they were asked to do so again. The last time they were in a pouch like that, they got motion sickness.

"Come on you two. I have to sneak you out of here," he explained.

" _Well, technically a lot of people know you're here, but we don't want the mess to get any worse."_

The primates gave him one last look before delving into the darkness of the pouch. It was a more spacious fit than Hazel's, which was something they were thankful about. Once they were in, Nigel zipped up the bag and gingerly slung it over his shoulder. He was about to turn around and leave before remembering something.

The park creator went over to the lone yellow file that lay just a few feet from the unconscious doctor. He went over to it and, unexpectedly, kicked it towards the greedy man. The file just stopped within inches of Dr. Cantrell's fingers like a dog would waiting for its master to awaken.

"We've caused you enough trouble," was all he said before he left the scene.

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15 minutes later

Marcus let out a satisfactory breath. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the deletion process was complete. The progress bar glowed green and showed 100%. Now their tracks were fully covered digitally. He closed his two laptops and started storing them away into their bags, which were right at the pilot's seat up front.

Hazel and Bob first looked at each other in confusion then at the ecstatic engineer. They knew that something good happened, and that something dealt with his tasks in the escape.

"What? What's up?" The female time traveller started.

"Your tracks have been covered," Marcus simply stated.

"Great!" She said with an uplifted tone. "But Nigel, Zini, and Suri aren't here. So the mission isn't exactly done yet."

The 25 year old man stopped dead in his tracks. He wanted to get out of this place so badly from the fear of getting caught for hacking into the hospital database. He was excited to do so, but after hearing that from Hazel, his mood became downtrodden.

"I've said this before and I'm saying it again," she said with determination. "We're not leaving without them."

Marcus turned around and met her angry face. "Sorry, but it's 7:45. It's been exactly one hour. We have to leave now."

"No!" She screamed and slammed her left hand on the seat. "If you even put a finger on that key, then I swear to God I will-"

"WAIT!" Someone screamed from the direction of the garage stairs.

All of them looked at the right and saw said park creator running towards them. Hazel let out a sigh of relief and sat back down on her seat.

"Sorry Marcus. Remind me to make you an omelet when we get back," she apologized.

"Nah. I think I'll pass," he replied while getting into the driver's seat of the chopper.

"Though, I am expecting a raise from our 'fearless leader' for putting me into this mess," Marcus added under his breath.

As soon as Nigel boarded the air vehicle, Marcus turned the key and started the helicopter. The chopper blades spun to life and roared through the sky. In a matter of moments, the vehicle's blades were at their full speed. The man closed the door of the helicopter then sat down on the seat next to Hazel. The trio of passengers retrieved the headsets that were stationed just next to their heads and prepped them. In no time, the helicopter took to the skies and propelled forward to Prehistoric Park.

"Sorry for the wait. I was trying to find these blokes," Nigel apologized then opened the bag he had placed in between his legs.

The lemurs emerged from the pouch, gasping for air. Their arms dangled right in front of them like ragdolls. The injured Hazel stared at them; she was happy that they were okay. Zini and Suri looked up to see the former sky-scout and immediately jumped up towards her. The girl grabbed them both with her left arm in an attempt to hug them. The lemurs returned the gesture.

"We did it!" Suri cheered.

"Well, mission accomplished," Bob remarked and put his hands behind his head.

"And not a moment too soon," Hazel acknowledged. She then looked at Nigel when she thought of the other thing that the escape included.

"Nigel, the file?"

The man nodded and put his hand into the large pocket of the bag. He searched around and finally found the object he was looking for. Slowly, he retrieved a peculiar yellow folder from within its reaches and lifted it up for everyone to see. Hazel relaxed and leaned back into her seat.

"Got it right here."

"Boy I bet Dr. Cantrell is going to be really pissed when he finds out," the park keeper mentioned. "Hazel, you really think putting those papers in that other file was a good idea?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders and smirked. "Hey, he wanted to use me to become famous for his own gain. I think that bastard deserves what's coming."

The humans laughed at that. Hazel did set up some kind of trick for that devious doctor. However, the only ones that were not aware of it were Zini and Suri. They stared at her in confusion as a result. The matriarch's daughter, eager to find out what she had done, leaned back to look at the human. Zini did the same thing as well.

"Uh...Hazel? What exactly did you do?" The little lemur asked.

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30 minutes later

Wits Gordon Medical Centre

Dr. Cantrell slumped on to the seat before his boss' desk. This was definitely a bad day for him. Chasing lemurs, trying to retrieve his file, and finding out that his test subject had escaped. Not only that, but the animal control he had one nurse call earlier came too late because when they arrived, the lemurs were nowhere to be seen.

The medic was a mess. His hair still contained bits of breakfast gravy, his clothes were all stained, and his nose now had a bandage across it. His face may be free of the gravy, but his clothes still smelled like that breakfast gruel, which sickened him to no end. The only consolation he had was the file he had placed on the desk.

The room he was in had a perfect view of Johannesburg. The window behind the mahogany desk was so expansive that it looked like a person could just accidentally fall through it. The carpet was a crystal blue, unlike the tiles and different carpets on each floor of the building. On both sides of the cherry wood walls was a cylinder of water containing an aquarium for rare fish found in coral reefs.

If it weren't for the person sitting right before him, Jeremy would have felt at peace. His boss was a stout man wearing a doctor's coat, a plaid shirt, brown office pants, black shoes, and rounded glasses. His head was balding, signaling his senior age. His face was almost covered in wrinkles. His expression was not a happy one, as his normal cheery appearance was replaced by one of irritation.

"Cantrell, you better have a good reason why you're in that kind of get-up and the mess you caused in this building. And what's this talk I hear of rogue monkeys?" he grumbled loudly.

"Sir, I've had one hell of a morning. Let's just say that file that is right in front of you is worth all of that trouble," he simply explained.

"What's in it?" He wondered.

"A scientific breakthrough," Dr. Cantrell smirked. "From analyzing a unique test subject's brain, I have discovered something that would drastically aid us in enhancing human hearing and learning!"

"The subject I investigated was a twenty year old girl that had survived a wild animal attack and brain electrocution. Her ribs were shattered and her brain was nearly fried. When she first arrived here, she was in pretty bad shape. Some of the other doctors were thinking that she would not make it, but after about 72 hours, her brain seemed fine!" He continued.

His boss leaned in a little closer to the file presented before him. This sort of news began to interest the stout head doctor.

"Go on…"

"Well like I said, I did some scans on her brain. When the results came out, I found that her wernicke's area had a large amount of activity compared to the rest of her brain. It was as if it was supercharged!"

"Sounds impossible," he dismissed the thought.

"But it isn't!" Dr. Cantrell slammed his hands on the desk and brought the file closer to his boss. "Open it up and you'll see!"

The medical businessman took the folder and slowly opened the flap. The Caucasian smiled in satisfaction when he succeeded in convincing his boss to see his work. In his mind, today has marked the day when he would no longer be considered an ordinary doctor. Today, he was about to become famous. That Nobel Prize was within his grasp. He could just feel it!

"Dr. Cantrell, care to explain what I am holding?" He glared at him with steely eyes.

Said doctor hurried over to his boss' side to see what was wrong. The man should be holding a paper with his notes or a scan of Hazel's brain. But instead, he was looking at something totally unexpected.

Printed on that paper were large, bolded words with a picture of the troll face from the internet. That smile frustrated both doctors to no end. When Dr. Cantrell read the words, however, his blood ran cold.

"DR. CANTRELL SUCKS BALLS" was what the first one said.

The boss put that paper off to the side and retrieved the next one. Like the first, it had the troll face, but it had different words on it.

"DR. CANTRELL'S ASS IS GRASS."

Another one was picked up. Again, the words were different. And those words insulted the boss greatly.

"CANTRELL'S BOSS' MAMA'S SO FAT WHEN SHE WAS HAVING SEX, HER PARTNER DOESN'T KNOW IF IT'S HER BUTT OR HER BOOBS!"

His boss slammed the folder shut and slowly turned to the now frightened employee. Jeremy swallowed started to back away towards his seat while keeping eye contact. As for the medical businessman, he slowly stood up and placed his hands perpendicular to each other. He gritted his teeth and a nerve began to pop out of the left side of his temple.

"Boss...I did not know those were in there," Dr. Cantrell tried to tell him. It was true, he had no idea those were in there.

In fact, he had no idea that when he saw those lemurs holding that file folder, Nigel had stored away the real thing into his bag and replaced it with the one he had now. He thought that they were stealing the file when in reality, it was already stolen.

The doctor raised his hands up in a nervous manner. Dr. Cantrell did not know what to do. He could just simply walk away, but that would not do any good. He laughed sheepishly in an effort to lighten the mood.

"They're all just jokes?" He blurted out.

"Cantrell," his boss started before taking in a huge breath.

"YOU'RE FIRED!"

 _And done! Operation Jailbreak is a success! Hazel's out of the hospital and they won't be seeing that doctor anymore. That's one problem out of the way. But now come the real issues...the herd, Aladar's recovery, Nero, and of course the finances. How will they overcome these challenges? Hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one! ^.^_


	14. Recovery

_Hi guys, Darksage and Marc here with another chapter. Now I know you guys are wondering about a couple things about the story so far. 1) The story is going to be at least 20 chapters long, maybe a little more. 2) No, Hazel hasn't given up on rescuing any more animals. We're planning on rescuing more creatures later. Other than that, enjoy the chapter!_ _ **Disclaimer: We do not own Prehistoric Park or Disney's Dinosaur.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: Sad Romance (Piano Cover) by Thao Nguygen Xanh**_

Hazel heaved a sigh as she trudged through the park. It was her second day back from escaping the hospital and over a week since she was admitted in. Her ribs were not fully healed just yet though. Every time she bent down or even took a deep breath, the pain in her chest would return. Her right arm was wrapped in a cast and hung on a specialized sling. The fracture her limb received thankfully wasn't as bad as her chest.

Today, she was wearing a purple V-neck T-shirt with knee length denim shorts and black Nike sneakers. Under her attire, however, was one of those chest belts Suzanne had applied around her chest.

The belt may be helpful in her full recovery, as long as she did not do anything strenuous, but it did little to contain the other effects of her injuries. Because the belt was so tight, she would sometimes have urges to scratch on her chest. Trying to do so with the item on did little to ease the irritation. As much as it was irritating, Hazel had to manage with that condition.

The painkillers may be doing their job in easing the pain, but Hazel had to take them every 6 six hours. Suzanne may not be a human doctor, but she advised her to retain from lifting heavy objects. That proved to be somewhat challenging as part of her job was to help with taking care of the animals, which included helping with such objects.

The jailbreak from yesterday still ran fresh in her mind. Hazel could finally breathe easy now that she was back in Prehistoric Park. That Dr. Cantrell in that hospital had wanted to use her for scientific research due to her unique brain chemistry. It was thanks to Nigel, Marcus, Zini, and Suri that his attempt to keep her for scientific research was foiled.

It was also thanks to Nigel that she was able to take a few days break so that she would recover a bit from her injuries. According to him, her recovery was what she needed to focus on now. Every staff member in the park worried about her because of what had happened to her that time, so they all felt in agreement to let her have a short vacation.

It was a privilege and a relief to have a small break from helping run the park, but that did not do much to help her cope with the trauma she received. Hazel still remembered that day when she saved the herd, when the herd's trust in her was destroyed. Not telling the herd, or her friends, about the fireball earlier had brought about serious consequences in the form of Nero breaking her body and Aladar's current condition.

Her body still bruised all over. Bruises caused by a human would have recovered within a week or two, but from a large animal? It would at least take a month to fully recover. As horrible as the ordeal was, Hazel knew that she deserved it all, and it all came at her like a bullet from a gun. In short, she was in pain, both physically and emotionally.

Hazel was a mess. Nearly a year ago, she thought that bringing back a herd of dinosaurs would be easy. Even getting the chance to talk to them was the biggest privilege in her life. Hazel never expected it to be this difficult. Now she has lost her friends and the trust of the ones she worked so hard to save all because of her fear.

Her reminisces of the past were interrupted by the activity around her. After observing the environment, she found that she was near the holding pens and Bob's workshop. Groups of park employees milled around as they were doing their jobs for the day. Various supplies, vehicles, and other pieces of equipment were being moved around either to be stored or for use. She even heard some employees talk about the new additions to the park, meaning the herd. Hazel did not bother with listening in to it, as doing so would only sadden her even more.

Then said employees, which were a group of men in their early 30's, became silent as she walked passed. They stared at her awkwardly, as they did not expect her to be there. Hazel did not want to think about what was going through their minds. She presumed that talk of her interactions with Nero and her friends spread around the park, which caused the other workers to get mixed feelings about her. Or maybe Nigel had already told everyone about what she had gone through over the past months. Some viewed her as someone who had lost her mind, because they dismissed the whole "Prehistoric Speak" and the interactions with a group of animals. Others were amazed at the story and saw her as a celebrity. Either way, she felt alienated.

"Morning Hazel!" a voice called from off to her left.

The girl stopped and stared with tired eyes at the person who had called her name. The owner of the gruff voice was Bob, who was headed towards his workshop in the same direction with a clipboard in his hand.

She swallowed to wet her dry throat before speaking. "Hi Bob."

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed? I thought Nigel gave you a few days off."

Hazel sighed unenthusiastically. "He did. I just felt like taking a walk is all."

"You sure you're alright?" he asked her with worry. "Broken ribs and getting knocked out aren't easy stuff that get fixed overnight."

The girl dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "I'm fine."

Then, she remembered that Bob was pretty much all over the park doing various duties. As a park keeper, he had all sorts of jobs. Which meant that he would be visiting the myriad of animals and informing everyone on what needed to be done or what he should do.

"Hey Bob?"

"Yeah?" he was about to write something down on the clipboard but was then pulled up by the mention of his name.

"How is the herd?"

"You mean that giant group of dinosaurs that you and Nigel rescued? They're fine," the bald man told her bluntly.

"How so? Are they eating well? They're not hurting anyone are they?"

Bob shook his head at that. "No. They're just fine. Nothing's wrong with them. Though, they do get a little frazzled whenever one of us gets too near them. Probably because they're not used to seeing a whole lot of humans."

Hazel looked down at that. That would probably be a partial answer to that, but she knew the real reason. Bob must have been trying to avoid talking about Nero, as he was the real reason why the herd was avoiding them. And she was in no mood to talk about it.

"I see…" she said quietly. "And the lemurs?"

Bob's left eyebrow went up at that. "The lemurs? Well let's put it this way: we tried to gather them up and put them in the bug house with the _Arthropleura_ , _Pulmonoscorpius_ , and _Meganeura_ , but they always escaped and stay at the tree-line around the herd plains. Either they're scared of them or they prefer that area. Where did you find them anyway?"

Hazel shrugged her shoulders. She wanted to tell him that they were found on an island in the Late Cretaceous, but she was afraid that would mess up his thinking on human evolution. So she dodged around that, as she would rather tell him when things were a little better.

"It's a long story."

"Well the lemurs are fine. They're more social around us, but the poor blokes aren't eating a lot."

"Probably because they need a bit more time…" she concluded. Like the herd, Hazel knew that the lemur clan were shaken up by the fact that they had lost their home...again.

"Suzanne's looking after them. But her plate's gotten even more full with the new additions to the park. Got those baby _Protoceratops_ to look after AND those few lemurs always hanging out at the infirmary department."

Hazel gulped at that. Judging from Bob's explanation, he was mostly likely talking about Plio, Suri, Zini, and Yar, and Aya. Thinking about them made her heart sink even more. Aladar was part of their family; he was a son, a brother, a nephew, and a friend. Just like how he was to her. The family probably wanted to get inside to be with the herd leader and keep him company even in his sleeping state.

"I...uh...I think I better go," she skirted back before turning away from the park keeper. "I'm going to check on the other animals."

She walked at a quick pace, eager to escape any more inquiries or thoughts related to the herd or her friends. Bob stared at her in confusion before returning to his work. He shook his head and walked in the opposite direction.

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A few minutes later, Hazel had found herself at the southwestern part of the park. This was where the Titanosaurs and the _Plateosaurus_ were kept because of the high treetops and the low-lying vegetation they grazed on.

The sky was now partially covered with clouds. There was not supposed to be rain, but she did hear that the day was going to be overcast. The temperatures did fall a bit though, but it was still hot, as it was getting close to summer.

She was walking along the edge of the Titanosaur paddock, lost in deep thought. She paid no attention to the sauropods that were chatting or grazing. One of the Titanosaurs even craned his neck down to greet her hello, but she just ignored him. Because of the size of the park, a certain birdbrain that kept breaking out, and the number of humans in it, talk of any huge events would spread like wildfire. So, as a result, the Titanosaurs were well aware of the recent events that occurred recently.

"Poor thing…" he mumbled before lifting his head up and turning around to resume eating.

In her mind, she was mulling about the whole mess she caused. It was her fault that she did not tell the herd sooner about the fireball. It was her fault that Aladar is in the condition he is in. It was her fault that the lemurs were once again homeless. And it was her fault that the herd had lost their trust in her. This was a huge mess she created...and one that she desperately wanted to fix.

"I have to fix this…" she told herself. "I have to set things right. But how do I do it?"

Hazel pondered on that question before resuming talking to herself. "Okay it's simple...all I have to do is apologize. Easy enough."

She had narrowly avoided tripping over a group of small ferns. The girl only dwelt for a moment on the possibility that they were probably ferns that Bob had dropped along the way as he was headed to the _Plateosaurus_ enclosure.

"Let's see...Hey guys. I'm sorry about all that has happened and I was hoping we could be friends again. You accepted me when I told you I was from the future, so this is no different right?" she recited in an upbeat tone and with a smile.

That enthusiasm deflated when she knew that it would not work. Once again, she tried it in a different saying. "Hey, listen, about last time. I'm sorry about what I had done. I did it because I wanted you to be happy."

She shook her head at that. "No, no…that won't do."

"Look I am really sorry about what's happened. You guys aren't just my friends. You're like…"

She stammered as she tried to find the right words to complete that. She eventually gave up with an exasperated sigh.

"You guys are just some animals that I was asked to rescue by Nigel."

Hazel smacked her head at that sign of defeat. "Damn it. This shouldn't be that hard, it's just a simple apology!"

She rubbed her temples with both of her hands then perked up at another thought. If she can't develop a perfect apology, then maybe she can ask someone about it.

"Okay...I could ask Nigel about it," she thought first, but then she shook her head. "No, he's probably too busy. And he's been so worried about me. I don't want to bother him about it."

"Bob?" Hazel thought about next. "No, I just talked to him. I don't want to pester him about anything like that. He'll probably give me some useless advice."

"Marcus?" She just rolled her eyes at the option. "God no! Probably only go to him if I'm having trouble sleeping. His technobabble will knock me right out."

The engineer was like the brother she never had, but his unfocused thoughts made Hazel confused more than half the time. She'd probably spend most of the day trying to interpret his words to see if Marcus answered her through his layers of extra words and facts.

Then, she realized that there was one other person that was good with emotional situations like this. Once, she had helped her out when she had lost her father years ago. And look where she is now; she is a much stronger woman thanks to her help! What better doctor to help with emotions than the one that helps with healing the animals!

"Suzanne!" she exclaimed as she kept walking onwards. "I'll go to Suzanne! Perfect! She'll help me out on this! All I have to do is find—!"

Her ramblings were interrupted by the sound of enumerated gasps and sighs. She stopped in her tracks in order to listen in on what that was. After a few seconds, they came back again. It was also at that moment that she realized there was not one source, but two. Determined to check it out, Hazel followed the sounds.

She looked to her left and saw something that would scar her memory for the rest of her life. Just about thirty feet from her, within a glen of trees and ferns, were two _Plateosaurus_. She and Nigel had rescued a group of them a couple years ago from a flash flood in prehistoric Central Europe during the Late Triassic. As she had recalled, there were 3 females, all of which had gray scales, and 3 males, which had blue scales that ran along the back from the neck to the tail.

The girl's face contorted into one of disgust. If there was one thing that Nigel or the other members of the park forgot to tell her, it was that this time of year was the mating season for some of the animals. She was used to seeing animals mate, as it was part of the circle of life. But because of her new ability to understand "Prehistoric Speak", courtesy of Nigel and Nero, she was now able to hear perfect English from them. And what she was witnessing was something she wished she didn't stumble across.

It had only been a few seconds, but Hazel had seen enough. She covered her eyes with her free hand and staggered away from the area. Her sight now scarred, Hazel ran in the opposite direction, determined to get away from there as quickly as possible.

"Oh God my eyes!" she screamed as she ran away from the area. Once she was far enough away, she rushed towards the direction of the Vet's Surgery, where she hoped to find Suzanne, and perhaps something to help her forget the profane sight of two animals mating.

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Vet's Surgery

20 minutes later…

When Hazel arrived at the Vet's Surgery, she expected the head vet's office to be all tidy. It was a good office too; the room was situated on the top floor, she had a view of a good portion of the park, and it was spacious like Nigel's. For the number of years she has known the veterinarian, Hazel knew that she was OCD about organization. Unlike their head engineer Marcus, Suzanne was specific about the cleanliness of her work area. It was one of the reasons she stayed away from his workshop. The clutter Marcus left behind caused the vet to get a bit twitchy.

On normal days, she would expect her office desk to be off to the side next to the window that overlooked the view of the mountains. Her desk would sometimes have papers strewn all over but in an orderly fashion and her chair would be tucked in its normal spot. Her bookshelves that lined the white walls of the office would have their contents stacked up nicely like a library. The plants she had would also be situated on both sides of the window to complete the scenery. Today was a different day.

Hazel gasped at what she came upon. Books and papers were strewn all over the place, the desk was a mess, and the plants were all knocked over. Bits of soil and water poured onto the tile floor as if something pushed it over. The cause of this destruction were four baby _Protoceratops_. As for Suzanne, she was chasing them all around the room trying to get them under control.

Sometime last year, Hazel and Nigel went back to prehistoric Mongolia in search of the Therizinosaurs. During their search, they came across a small colony of _Protoceratops_. The nesting mothers were heavily guarding their babies from intruders so she and her mentor had to be careful around them. It was actually during that time that they came across these new hatchlings. They were huddled together, all alone in their nest. Their mother could not be found anywhere and it looked like they were about to die of starvation. One clue they did see of their mother's fate were a series of tracks that were not far from the nesting site. The tracks consisted of _Protoceratops_...and _Velociraptor_. By the time Nigel came upon the site, he saw the grim fate of the mother; a skeleton with bits of flesh hanging on her bones and a carpet of dried blood beneath her. So, naturally, the duo took the babies back to Prehistoric Park where they could have a better chance in life. The babies, which all turned out to be girls, were a handful though, and today was one of those days.

"Hey stop!" The vet cried as she chased after a baby that was holding one of her books in her mouth. "Give that back!"

Two other babies were next to the woman's desk playing around with the papers on the floor. The once clear, white files that contained various data now had darkened footprints all over them. They were also now crumpled or shredded into pieces due to the horseplay. The babies there were playing with one such paper in a little game of tug-of-war. Suzanne, who had managed to snatch her book away from the first baby, grabbed the other papers and the one that was about to be torn to shreds. To get them away from the reach of the hatchlings, she quickly left them on her desk. This caused the babies to corral around her to try to get their "toys" back.

"No, you can't have these back. They're not toys," she firmly scolded them against their pleading cries.

Hazel's new power may have allowed her to speak to prehistoric creatures without her communicator, but it could not translate the words of young babies. These little ones were just a year old, about the same age as the children she met at the Nesting Grounds. However, she knew that all dinosaur species aged differently. So these children would actually still be in their infant stage at this point.

The final baby was actually trying to sneak away from her caretaker and other sisters to avoid any trouble. But she failed to see Hazel in the doorway. The girl sighed and picked up the baby in her arms. With a few gentle strokes on her back, the young time traveler calmed her down.

"Seems like you've got your hands full," Hazel remarked.

Hearing her voice caused Suzanne to look at the doorway. The young girl that she had expected to be sleeping in bed at this point was just standing right there. Embarrassment flooded over her when she figured out Nigel's student had seen the whole event that had taken place.

"Hazel! Oh my God, I didn't see you there!"

"Well...I tend to do that to a lot of people," she nervously chuckled and placed the baby down onto the floor. In response, the growing hatchling ran over to join the rest of her sisters.

"Aren't the babies supposed to be in the nursery?" Hazel wondered.

Suzanne sighed and shook her head. "They were supposed to...but someone left the door open and these girls unattended. I think they went off to the bathroom without getting someone to watch over them."

"What brings you here to my office?" The vet asked her kindly.

The young woman gulped and hugged the _Protoceratops_ baby tightly at that statement. "Um...question. Do you know the best way to apologize to some friends?"

"Apologize?" She gave her a look of confusion.

It took a moment for her to realize the reason why she asked that question. Nigel had told her last night about their recent breakout AND the events that occurred over a week ago. So she was already well aware of the situation at hand. She was still surprised that the _Iguanodon_ she and the rest of the vets were trying to save was the alpha male of the herd. Hearing those words from Nigel made her concerned for the well-being of the herd and of everyone in the park should anything happen to Aladar.

"Oh, you mean for the whole meteor incident."

Hazel grimly nodded. "I want to fix everything. Just saying 'I'm sorry' isn't going to cut it. After not telling them about the disaster that was coming, they're not going to believe me."

"Hazel, it's been enough time. I'm sure they're in more of a mood to talk to you now," she reasoned. "Being in a friendship isn't always perfect; you'll have ups and you'll have downs. Friends fight at times. I'm sure if you tell them sincerely they'll understand."

The youngster groaned and rolled her eyes. "I don't know about that. Judging from what Bob mentioned almost two days ago, if I try to approach them, they'll just go the other way."

"Well, what you can do is-" she was about to say but was then interrupted by the sound of tearing leaves.

The conversation they were having had pulled their attention away from the babies. Both women found them by one of the plants and were eating off of it. The plant, which was a rubber tree, was having its leaves getting torn from the stem. Suzanne let out a shriek and went over to the babies, pulling them away one by one.

"Girls! That is NOT something you eat!"

While the vet was frantically trying to pull the babies away from the tree, they would just run back to the plant and start eating again. Seeing the babies this way amused Hazel, even made her laugh a bit. The grim thoughts she had before were fading, if only for a moment. It would appear that laughter was an effective painkiller as well.

Off to her left, she spotted one of the empty boxes Suzanne had at the corner of the room. No doubt she used this box to store some supplies she wanted to bring to her office. The box was a decent size and of a sturdy cardboard material. It was perfect for this situation. Hazel grabbed the box and put it near Suzanne.

The vet's eyes gleamed in relief. "Thanks Hazel."

She then started to pick up the babies one-by-one and placed them into the box. The beige hatchlings were trying to get over the walls of the little enclosure, but the height inhibited them. The cries they emitted turned into little shrieks like a parrot demanding for food.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could help but I'm really busy at the moment. We'll talk later. I'd better take these kids over to their nest so they could have some lunch," the dark-haired woman mentioned and lifted the box up.

Hazel stood off to the side and allowed the vet to exit her office. She walked down the hall, carrying the crying babies back to the nursery nearby. The sound of her footsteps and the cries of the children echoed down the darkened passageway. The area was like the hospital she was in before, except it was smaller and had less people in it. Unlike the bustling halls of Wits Donald Gordon, there were no patients or doctors milling about, which was a relief to Hazel.

She sighed and made her way down that hallway. But unlike Suzanne, she did not go straight, but rather made a left at the first intersection. Hazel expected to get an answer out of the head vet, but as seen today, she did not.

" _Is anyone here willing to help?"_ She groaned in her mind.

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Deinosuchus Dip

As the day wore on, the clouds began to build up. Gray clouds were starting to blot out the sun, taking away the usual bright atmosphere of the park. The temperature did stay the same though. Even though it was overcast and hot, life in the park went on. The workers were all busy caring for the residents or doing other jobs.

Hazel walked on and found that members of Aladar and Neera's herd were in parts of the park. Occasionally, she would see a few _Struthiomimus_ , _Styracosaurus_ , or other members wandering through their new surroundings. No doubt they either want to explore the new place or just find a bite to eat. Seeing them made her feel ashamed again, like a huge raincloud pouring water on her. It did not even help when they would see her. They would either give her a warning snort to tell her to back off, or they would give her a cold stare before walking away.

" _I can't blame them,"_ she thought as she mindlessly made her way to a particular large pond. _"I've caused them enough trouble."_

Just then, Hazel noticed some movement ahead of her. Lifting her head from staring at the bridge boards, her eyes widened and worry hit her stomach like a rock. There, just about to drink from the worst place to be in for a refresher, was a lone _Stygimoloch_. If the circumstances were better, she would have at least warned the herd to not go to certain areas. But fate was hitting her like a stick to the head.

"No, don't drink from there!" She screamed at it.

The pachycephalosaur lifted its head up and looked to its right. It noticed the human girl and then gave her a mocking glare. Hazel wasn't surprised; a number of the herd members still don't trust her for what had happened before. But the least she could do now was to get this guy out of the way.

"This area isn't safe! Go back to the valley with the herd!" Hazel warned with earnest.

The bipedal dinosaur was about to retort when suddenly, a large shape came lunging out of the water towards it. Water splashed from it and onto the bridge, nearly drenching Hazel and the ornithopod. The plant eater let out a shriek and jumped out of the way of a pair of large jaws. It then made a beeline to the other side of the bridge, where it made its way back towards the valley sector. The monster's jaws snapped shut, but it was actually a few inches from the edge of the bridge.

It was at that moment that Hazel forgot that Marcus placed barrier fences around predator enclosures in the park. Hence why their only _Deinosuchus_ could not get too close. Still, she knew that drinking in this pond was not a good idea. The humans here knew they were okay so long as the barrier was up, but the dinosaurs don't know that.

The large crocodilian slunk backwards and turned its great head towards the lone human. Hazel knew this predator well. In fact, she did strike up some conversations with it in the past. The creature gave her a big toothy smile and then a little chuckle.

"Irwin, are you out of your mind!?" She exploded at the biggest croc in the park.

"Sorry love, couldn't help meself," he said in his usual, deep Australian accent.

When Hazel first spoke with him some time after her return from her solo mission months ago, she felt uneasy around the reptile. Then, as time went on, she found that he wasn't as bad, but he did like to play pranks on people by scaring them half to death. Hazel equated him to the famous Crocodile Hunter _Steve Irwin_ , because he hunted animals, but had no intent on harming them. Plus, he was a large crocodile himself and it fit him perfectly. It took some time for Hazel to explain who the person was to the prehistoric reptile. The _Deinosuchus_ was one of the most powerful carnivores in his time, and upon hearing of a human that hunted his modern descendants, he worshiped the name. The name Irwin suited him and he stuck with it.

"That was one of our new residents! What were you thinking!? Are you trying to get us both in trouble!?"

Irwin let out a laugh, which caused some water to splash around the large gator. "Old habits die hard."

The Asian clenched her fists and stared into his cold, black eyes. The croc wasn't phased by it because during his life, he had to fess up to other predators. Still, he felt like chuckling at the young keeper's attempt at intimidation.

"Don't worry love," he reassured her. "I've got no intention of harming anyone. Just wanted to have a good laugh. Besides, you folks have given me a new home and some free food. I wouldn't want to spoil that with some bad behavior."

Hazel didn't move a muscle and continued to stare at him. Sure he was a prankster at times, but the stunt just pulled would surely make more members of the herd uneasy about being in the present. Gossip was going to spread about predators in the park. She knew the situation was about to get worse. Then again...it was bad enough as it is.

"Well that wasn't funny," the girl folded her arms.

"Onto another note," Irwin remarked, dismissing the scare attack he created a minute ago. "Seems like you're recovering nicely."

"I was punched in the ribs by a rogue _Iguanodon,_ my brain was nearly fried to a crisp, and I nearly drowned in a lake," she blankly stated the obvious.

"Yeah, yeah I know," the gray-scaled reptile moved his head from side-to-side cheekily. "Word spread pretty quickly about that. I wasn't happy when I heard about that incident. Believe me, I want to teach that dill who hurt ya a lesson. That was no way to treat a lady!

"But that's not what's gotten ya in a bind, now is it?" He eyed her suspiciously.

"What are you talking about?" Hazel looked away, dismissing the croc's curious remark.

"Come on kid, I've been around you humans for a while. I can tell when someone's in a bind."

Hazel tensed up even more. Figures, she knew that Irwin would know something was bothering her. Either by gossip from the other park keepers, or from Espantos's unofficial "news reports" when he escapes his enclosure. Hazel sighed and let her arms fall down to her sides.

"My friends don't trust me after that disaster over a week ago. And the herd views me as some kind of traitor...even though I never betrayed them in the first place. I want to fix this mess."

"Then go and fix it," Irwin nonchalantly stated. "Shouldn't be that bad."

"Easier said than done!" She yelled with a stomp of her foot. Her eyes started to become watery with the pang of guilt in her stomach. "Irwin, they hate me now! How am I supposed to get them to talk to me if they're not going to believe a thing I say?"

The giant gator rolled his eyes in irritation. "Oh for the love of...quit being such a hatchling Sheila!"

That phrase caused Hazel to back up nervously from the croc. The commanding remark had actually caused the bridge to shake a little. All of that was enough to make Hazel fall silent.

"You humans always make things overcomplicated! You're worried about a couple of friends turning their backs on you for not telling them a little fire rock was going to destroy them? Pathetic! If the stories traveling around the Park about you are half as true, you faced tougher situations than this. You won't see any 'crocodile tears' from me. So buck up and just do it!"

With that said, Irwin let out a huff and slunk into the depths of the pond. A few ripples erupted to the surface from his action and then disappeared within a matter of seconds. With the disappearance of the gator, all became quiet.

Hazel sighed. First Suzanne didn't give her a lot of helpful advice, and then Irwin tells her to just do it. It would seem that she'll have to do this on her own, without anyone's advice.

She walked away from the bridge, reluctant to go on with the task before her. Deep down, she knew it had to be done. She wanted to repair the bonds with her friends. If Irwin's advice of just going ahead and telling them her sincerity of the situation was the best, then she'll do it. In fact, this short conversation she had with Irwin reminded her of the spirit journey she had with Kron. He told her to accept the consequences that followed. That was something she did perfectly well, even though she was hurt in the process. But this is the present, she and was intent on undoing the wrongs she created.

Hazel marched away from the _Deinosuchus_ Dip and made her way towards the valley sector of the park.

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Valley Sector

Elephant/Herd Grounds border

Flia stood alone on a hill on the elephant/herd grounds border. Since the incident recently, she hadn't been herself. Like before when the herd arrived back at the Nesting Grounds, the flyer would wait at the entrance to the cave like a wilted flower. Now, she was like that again. The hurt inside her was tremendous. Her heart felt like it had been stabbed by an invisible knife.

Saying that Flia was a mess was an understatement. Her eyes were weary from crying, she barely ate anything, and she had little sleep. The truth that Hazel revealed to her and the herd had broken her heart. It was as if her own best friend turned her back on her by jeopardizing their safety. Anger, pain, and sadness were flooding through the scout's mind as she milled about that one day.

If Flia had paid any mind to her surroundings, she would have noticed her companions coming towards her. At the front of the group was Neera. The fuchsia _Iguanodon_ , who still felt insecure about the whole situation, was now more level-minded thanks to her meeting with Martha the mammoth. Plio, Yar, Suri, Zini, and even Aya were there as well and followed close behind the female. They were still worried about Aladar's condition, but none of them could bear to see one of their fellow friends be this way. The same went for Baylene and Eema as well, who were the last to arrive. Unlike the others, who were uneasy about the humans and their surroundings, they were more comfortable in this new world. The humans had not caused them any harm and there was plenty of food to go around. True, they have not explored the park yet, but they felt that now was not the time to do so.

"Hi Flia," Neera greeted in a downtrodden manner, feeling her friend's pain.

The _Pteranodon_ did not bother to look back at her friends. She knew that they were there from the sound of their footsteps. A cloud of depression was upon her, and they could all feel it.

"You okay hun?" Eema asked next.

"Does it look it?" the scout replied in a sarcastic, yet depressing, tone.

"Flia," Plio said as she hopped close to the pterosaur. "We know how you feel. We're all shaken up about the whole thing. But you mustn't give up hope. Everything will be okay."

It was that statement that struck a nerve on the brown-skinned pterosaur. Flia abruptly turned and looked down at the lemur. The rage emanating from her eyes met with the calmness of the lemur matriarch's. The others nearby became nervous at the sight of the now angry _Pteranodon_ , but they kept their composure and prepared for her outburst of emotions.

"Okay?" Flia hissed out in anger. "Okay!? We nearly got fried by that Fireball and narrowly escaped with our lives! Our leader's gravely injured and we have to sit and wait to see if the humans would keep their word on his recovery! What's more, we're in an unknown land, pulled away from our home. All because of a certain human who never told us what was coming!"

Plio was slightly intimidated by the _Pteranodon's_ tirade, but she kept her composure. Neera then strode forward and stood next to her adopted mother-in-law. She felt the same way last week and she told the friend circle of what Martha revealed to her. The lemurs and the elders understood the situation. However, the only one who was not aware of it was Flia.

"Flia, hear me out when I say this. We all know how you feel. We're on the same page. But Hazel-"

Flia shot glares at her female superior and let out an angry squawk. "Don't you dare say that name in front of me!"

Despite the outburst from the angry sky-scout, the alpha female continued on her explanation. "She was wrong to not tell us of the coming danger. But her actions were not out of spite, but rather of inexperience. She did not know how to tell us. It took me a while to realize this, but she only wanted us to remember our home in the past, and remember the good times."

"Why didn't she tell us in the first place?" the flyer remarked and looked down on the ground disappointment. If Hazel had truly cared about the herd's and her friends' wellbeing, then wouldn't it make sense to tell them in the first place?

"She was scared Flia. And like I said, she wanted us to remember our home for what it was, now what it became," Neera answered sincerely and spoke Martha's words out of verbatim. "It was _because_ of her feelings towards us that caused her to put off telling us about the Fireball."

"I can understand the girl's plight as well," Baylene added to Neera's explanation and went closer to the _Pteranodon_. The great sauropod craned her neck down so as to meet the flyer's tired eyes. "But she is young. She has much to learn. Hazel did not deserve the punishment given to her before. In fact, we should be grateful that we are all still alive."

Flia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own friends were supporting her ex-friend's actions? The _Pteranodon_ took a few steps back, confused and insecure about what she had just heard. Hazel had emotionally betrayed her in a sense, and now her friends were doing the same?

Flia shook her head in disbelief. "You guys are actually siding with that…that…human!? After what had just happened!?"

"Flia listen to me!" Neera interjected, causing the pterosaur to back down submissively to her superior. "Hazel was wrong to keep that a secret, but she also saved our lives. If it weren't for her, then we would have all died by the Fireball. The humans here also do not deserve our anger; they've been looking out for us, even though we've been pushing them away. We have lost our home, but Hazel and her people have taken us in."

The _Pteranodon_ took in every word that came from the alpha female's mouth. Now that she mentioned it, the humans have been looking after them ever since they arrived. It was just that she did not pay it any mind. They did check on various herd members for any injuries or other minor issues. They were doing all of that because they cared for them. And everyone was shunning them because of one human's mistake. This revelation left Flia even more confused.

Right when Flia was about to reply back to Neera, soft footfalls sounded before them. The dinosaurs, lemurs, and pterosaur faced that direction, only to be mildly surprised. None of them said a word as a certain human with short black hair slowly approached them. This human wore a peculiar purple covering with an even more peculiar covering on her legs, but they knew who it was by the look on her face. She also had some wrapping on her arm, which made them even more curious on what it was. Her arm hung on that contraption, like a branch would before it fell to the ground.

Except for Zini and Suri, who met up with her two days before, the rest were stunned to see the appearance of Hazel. They didn't know why she was here again, or even as to how she was up and walking from her recent punishment from Nero.

The human girl stopped just a few feet before her long-time friends and gave them a sad look before looking away. "Hey guys."

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It took Hazel a while to track down her friends. They could have been anywhere in the park, but she took a gamble and went straight for the valley sector. By the time she arrived, it was already mid-afternoon. The clouds have increased in number and turned the weather from mostly cloudy to overcast. To Hazel, it was as if they were a curtain of despair for everyone in the valley.

During her time finding her friends, the young woman mulled about the partial advice she received earlier that day. Suzanne wasn't much help, but she did say her friends would listen. Irwin the _Deinosuchus_ told her to just do it as she's got nothing much to lose. His advice was harsh and blunt, but reasonable. Now, she was standing before them, ready to face the emotional obstacle before her.

"Hey guys," she said attempting to put in an uplifting tone of voice. In the very back of the group, she noticed Flia glancing back and forth from the human and at the ground. Hazel could sense her insecurity. In fact, she felt the same way and did the same thing.

Moments passed and no reply came from them. They eyed her with caution as if she were a predator waiting to hurt them. She let out a quiet sigh and frowned again. Hazel expected that kind of response; none of them would want to talk to her after what happened before. But their silence did not stop her and she kept going.

"I know none of you would want to hear this from me, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not telling any of you about the fireball."

She then inhaled deeply, but not so much to cause her chest any strain. "You were all so happy when you were in the Nesting Grounds and...if I told you about the Fireball, then that happiness would be ruined. I know that's no excuse."

Tears began to form in her eyes, but Hazel did her best to keep them in. If she broke down now, then she would appear more like a wreck and a person that was desperate for their forgiveness. Hazel wanted to be strong in front of them, like a mature woman. Her breaths became shaky as she tried to keep her pain under control.

"I just wanted you to enjoy your last days there...but now I see that it was wrong of me to do so. It's time you knew the full truth about me."

All of them gave her questioning looks when she said that. In their minds, they wondered about what other secrets she had kept from them. Were they more lies? How could this girl not tell them everything about herself? Weren't they her friends? All of them awaited for what she was about to tell them, whether it was painful or not.

"I was sent back to your time not just to explore, but also to save you. The Fireballs that impacted the earth are history for us. That's why we know about it," she explained to them. Hazel refrained from explaining the discovery of the second Fireball Nigel told her to avoid any more confusion.

"I was tasked with finding a herd of dinosaurs and bringing them back here before that disaster struck. Soon after arriving, Flia found me and brought me to your herd. The herd was driven to find the Nesting Grounds and...well you can probably imagine me if I tried to convince Kron about coming with me to Prehistoric Park," Hazel explained with every ounce of confidence she could muster.

All of them glanced at each other in shock. In light of what this human has said, now they knew why she appeared before them and why she brought them to this time. She wasn't just driven to save them from destruction because she cared about them, she did so because it was her mission. THEY were a mission. None of them couldn't believe it; were they all just materials that she was asked to find? Did she even care about them? Horror, anger, and disappointment were going through their minds like a flash flood.

They also understood Hazel's conflict with trying to convince Kron of the situation. All of them knew that the former leader would merely dismiss her plight or kill her on the spot if it got worse. Not only that, but who would believe a human's words of a coming disaster?

Every single one of them wanted to retort against Hazel for what she had thought of them. But when they saw her open her mouth, they knew that more was coming. They were not ruthless monsters, and they did not want to appear that way. So they remained quiet, allowing Hazel to continue on with her explanation.

"So I decided to tag along and make sure that you were all safe. If there was no Nesting Grounds, then I would bring you all back, so that you could have a better chance. In this case, I left you alone so you would all recuperate."

Hazel took in another deep breath and exhaled. She was satisfied that she finally got that out of her system, but now came her judgement. If her friends would continue to view her as an outsider/bringer of death, then so be it. Hazel prepared for the worst and said her final words.

"So there you have it. Now you know the whole truth. Whatever judgement you have to say about me, I'll accept. I don't deserve your kindness, after what just happened. And you guys have every right to hate me and never speak to me again. But…I'm just glad that you're all safe."

Hazel, now finished with what she came there to do, turned away from them. As she started to walk off, the tears she did so well to conceal from her friends fell from her eyes like a waterfall. If this was the day that she would lose them by ruining their trust, then that will be something that she must accept. Hazel could just run away from them, so that they wouldn't see her cry. But because of her injuries, she couldn't run.

Her explanation hit Flia like how the first Fireball did many months ago. This human stayed with them and helped everyone get to their Nesting Grounds. But it was because she was either required to do so or it was from her own will. Her mission was to save them. So what did that make her and the rest of her friends? Flia wanted to know if what she heard was true or if it was a lie. The _Pteranodon_ eased her way passed the lemurs and the other dinosaurs just so she could get within a few feet of the two-legged.

"Hazel," Flia called to her. The girl stopped in her tracks and gasped. Slowly, she turned around and met the sad eyes of her best friend.

"I…we want to know something," she said, representing the whole group since they were pretty much thinking the same thing. "What are we to you? Are we just your mission? Your 'materials' needed to add to this place? Or are we something...more?"

Hazel's eyes widened, stunned at those words. She never thought hearing that from her best friend could hurt her heart. It was as if the knife that stabbed her went even deeper. Hazel shook her head in rejection. She clenched her hand tightly, causing the nails to imbed into her skin.

"Flia...Neera...everyone, you are NOT any means to an end. Yes, I thought that way when I first met you all. I viewed you as merely animals that just needed to be saved. But after I got to know you all...you became something more. Much more. If I wasn't a friend, then back there I would have just left the Nesting Grounds to the safety of the present. But I didn't. I stayed and made sure that you all escaped. You guys aren't just my friends...you're my family...and I would risk everything, even my own life, for you."

Hazel nearly fell over when the pterosaur surprised her with an embrace. Her warm wings wrapped around the stunned woman like a cloak in the dead of winter. The _Pteranodon_ hugged her in a tight embrace and rested her beak on the girl's shoulder. Hazel's tears continued to fall and she let out sobs as she buried her face in the scout's skin.

The others felt their pain and gathered to join the tearful duo. Neera, who was still tormented by her love's condition and the abrupt escape from the Fireball, finally understood that what Hazel did was for the good of everyone. She wanted everyone to live and she had much to learn about everything, both logical and emotional. The alpha female mentally thanked Martha for this moment, because now she felt that she could trust Hazel again.

The only one who did not join in the group embrace was a wary Yar. True, he was happy that everyone got out alive, even his own family. But he was still miffed about being pulled into an unknown world and evacuating at the last minute from a disaster. In his mind, the old lemur thought the humans might turn their backs on them and do something harmful. Or worse, his adopted grandson might not recover at all. Yar looked away and let out a huff. Plio, who managed to get onto Flia's back to stroke Hazel's head, caught sight of her father's attitude. She frowned and rolled her eyes at him.

"Dad, come on," she called out to him.

Everyone in the group looked in that direction and saw the angry lemur. Even Hazel stopped her crying to see what was happening. They saw him fold his arms over his chest and turn away from them.

"You lot may trust Hazel again, but what if she's got other things she's keeping from us? In fact, what if there are things that the humans here aren't telling us about their world?"

Hazel swallowed air and wet her throat before replying. "Yar, and this goes for everyone, there won't be any more secrets between us. You guys are here, in my world. You'll come across a lot of questions. And my people and I are here to answer them and to ease your fears."

"Oh yeah?" the elder retorted and hopped a little closer to the group. "Then how about-"

"Dad!" Plio scolded her father and gave him a stern face. "Hazel is one of us. Just trust her."

On the outside, Yar did not show any difference towards his daughter's word. However, in his mind, he relented. If these humans can save Aladar, then he must trust them. They were also in a new world, so there are things that he does not know about. Hazel also saved everyone, and that he was grateful for. The grizzled primate sighed and nodded, showing everyone that he trusts the human girl.

"Hazel," Neera started, causing the petite keeper to look up at the dinosaur. "If it weren't for you and Nigel, then we would have all died back there. Everyone is safe thanks to you."

Hazel gave her a weak smile. She was about to return the gesture, but then remembered something. The herd may slowly trust humans with time, but the thought of a certain green _Iguanodon_ caused her to cringe in fear.

"What about Nero? He doesn't trust me," she remarked after wiping her tears away with her free arm.

The fuchsia Iguanodon shook her head and nuzzled the human's forehead with her snout. "Don't worry about him. I'll make sure he doesn't harm you or anyone here."

Hearing her say that put Hazel at ease. Nero most likely has a huge distrust against humans, including herself after the Fireball escape. If Neera and the others can keep him under control while Aladar recovers, then everything should be fine.

"Hazel?" Suri called out to her.

The girl turned away from Flia's embrace to the little lemur. Hazel saw that she had a worried look on her face and became concerned again.

"Is Aladar going to be okay?" she asked the human.

Hazel knew that question would come up sometime. In truth, she doesn't know a lot about Aladar's condition. She did hear from Suzanne that she and the vets are doing what they can for the alpha leader. Currently, they are in the process of doing some skin-grafting, which involved surgically removing his burnt skin. Hazel knew that the medical technologies of today have made great strides in various treatments, so it was only a matter of time before Aladar could be fully healed. But time was the factor that did not agree with everyone. Not only that, but he was in an induced coma so that the vets could operate on him without him harming himself.

Hazel schooled her features to appear confident to her friends. She felt that he would be alright. But deep down, she was unsure when he could step out of the warehouse. It could be days, or many weeks from now. The woman had to remain hopeful for her friends and to herself.

"He's going to be fine," she replied to Suri. "He'll be up and about in no time."

It was at that statement that Neera let out a gasp. All of them looked at her back away from the group. She let out shaky breaths and her eyes widened in fear.

"Neera? What's the matter?" Hazel asked her.

"Hazel, there's something you need to know about."

Neera told Hazel about the threat Nero made. The pit in her stomach got even worse with every word about the 3-ton bully taking over should Aladar not survive. Hazel feared for the safety of the residents AND of the people here. With so many problems on her plate, she worried if there were even worse to come.

"Shit," was all she could say after her friend was done speaking. Not only is she worried about Aladar not making it, but now she feared for everyone.

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Nigel's Den

Late afternoon…

"This is a problem," Nigel after heaving out a frustrated moan. Just a few minutes ago, Hazel told him the news that Neera informed her some time ago. She felt that Nigel should know since it may concern the safety of everyone in the park.

The keeper wished that the problems would just disappear when Hazel got back. Apparently fate wanted to throw more challenges at them.

The park was nearly shrouded in a blanket of darkness. The only sounds of the park they could hear were the occasional bellows of the herd members in the far-off valley sector. The soft breeze wafted through the leaves gently, creating the relaxing ambiance.

The lights from Nigel's den were the only ones that lit up that particular area. Like before, his office was an organized mess with papers and books in particular places. Normally, he and Hazel would be working on a new project at this time, but now they had a series of problems to face. And this new one was going to be a doozy if nothing was done.

Hazel walked over to one of the ledges and stared at the dark outline of the mountains. "How long until Aladar fully recovers?"

The man shook his head. The young keeper noticed this from her peripheral vision. "Well Suzanne and the vets are still working on his wounds. It's going to take at least a few more weeks for them to heal. By my count, I'd say at least 3 weeks."

"His coma?" she added.

"That's reversible. But the vets are planning on reviving him from that once the burns recover."

Hazel threw her arms up and let out a cry of frustration. She then began to pace around his office in an attempt to calm down. "Nero you're such a prick!"

In response to her ranting, Nigel stood up and walked towards her. The vested man placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to stop her tirade. Hazel looked at him; her infuriated eyes met his calm demeanor.

"Hazel calm down. Everything will be sorted out. There's nothing we can do except do the best we can."

The woman sighed and closed her eyes. "This is Kron all over again," she complained and looked at the man with slight urgency. "Even if Aladar gets better in time, and manages to give him the boot, Nero might tear down Prehistoric Park out of vengeance. What do we do?"

The head park keeper let go of her shoulder and walked back over to his desk. "Right now, forget about Nero. Focus on the park and your friends. We'll monitor Aladar's condition. If the situation gets worse, we'll do something about him," he reassured her.

After thinking about it for a moment, Hazel knew that there was nothing else that could be done. If Aladar didn't get better soon, then things in the park would make a turn for the worse. She exhaled and glanced back at Nigel before returning her gaze to the mountains.

"Alright. We'll wait."

Just then, a rumbling sound erupted from her stomach. In response, Hazel put her hand on it and gulped, trying to hide her embarrassment. Apparently, all the stressing and worrying she went through today had distracted her from her own health needs. She hadn't eaten since breakfast!

Nigel couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Hazel, why don't you go and get something to eat. It'll do some good for you."

The student glanced back at her mentor before nodding in agreement. Food always did make her feel better in stressful situations. Without staying for another moment, she walked away from his office. The clunking of her boots meeting the wooden planks on the bridges connecting the office to the next few towers before the exit echoed. As Hazel walked down the step from the landing, she did not notice Marcus pass her by.

The engineer watched her go and wondered what other things she and Nigel discussed. But, there were more pressing matters at hand. He came there for a reason. Pushing that thought aside, he climbed up the steps and made his way to his boss's office.

As he made his way to Nigel's den, he wondered why he would place his main workspace in a tree line rather than in a building like a normal person. Why his boss decided to put his workspace in a tree was anyone's guess, but it did have a "Wildman" motif going for it. The engineer shook his head at his wandering mind.

' _Focus Marcus! This is important and you've stalled long enough_.' He thought as he steeled himself to break to Nigel the bad news.

Reaching the top, he crossed the many wood bridges until he reached Nigel's office, passing by some of the friendly _Microraptors_. They were chirping at him for some cashews that Nigel and Hazel liked to feed them. After shooing them away, Marcus took a deep breath and entered Nigel's office. Marcus's boss was looking over some files for one of the residents when Marcus decided to visit.

"Hello Marcus! This is a surprise. I thought that you would be making new Perimeter Collars for the Herd?" Marcus had to clench his jaw and mentally cut himself off from going into his technical tangents. What he had to say was too important. With a sigh, Marcus took off his hardhat and adopted a serious tone.

"Nigel, we need to talk…"

Marcus began to tell his boss the crisis that the Park faced, and with each word the engineer spoke, the lower Nigel's spirits sunken for the inevitable end of his dream.

 _And that's the end of that chapter. This is just me, but I think the song Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson goes well with this chapter. I also have a vocal soundtrack that goes along with this story and the prequel. I'm planning to post the song list when this is done. Please leave your comments in the review section and stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	15. A Quiet Day

_Hey guys, Marc Ello Re-Yes and Darksage here with the next chapter in this story. Sorry it took a while, exams, projects, and other events came our way. This chapter's pretty beefy, but it was fun to write!_ _._

 _So one of the reviews mentioned that a progress bar should be posted on the chapters to let you guys know about how many chapters are left. That is actually a great suggestion and I will start doing that on the next chapter._

 _Another reviewer asked about why Eema is stouter than the other Styracosaurus. It's because she's old._

 _One other reviewer asked about Prehistoric Park being in a shared universe as other shows/movies/media. We don't want to spoil anything, but it is in the same universe as some other media._

 _Finally, the Microceratus were rescued. They're just mostly in the valley with the rest of the herd members._

 _Other than that, enjoy the chapter!_ _ **Disclaimer: We do not own Disney's Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: Missing You by Gabriel Quintana**_

A few days later…

Prehistoric Park Infirmary

Hazel walked silently across the halls in the infirmary. About an hour ago, she snuck out of her room wearing a simple green T-shirt and gym shorts. She had to wait in the back for everyone to leave because she didn't want anyone to see her. If Suzanne or any of the other vets caught her at this hour, they would ask her to leave. Hazel had a reason to be here, and there was no way that anyone would pull her away from one of her dearest friends.

It was already late-June, meaning it was the dry season. The temperatures ranged from the mid-40s to the low-70s. In this part of Africa, the temperatures did not get that cold and mostly stayed well around the 50s. Nevertheless, Hazel brought along a blanket because she didn't feel like dressing up in a sweater.

Night covered the valley like a shroud of darkness. Once again, it was overcast in the sky. The moon and the stars were blocked out by the dark clouds that glided by. The wind was cool and brought a slight chill in the night. Like before, all was quiet except for the occasional sounds the residents would let out before going to sleep.

After leaving the storage room she waited in, she bypassed more unknown rooms and the break room. In no time, she came across the door that led into the main complex. It was a good plan; sneaking into the storage area and hiding behind a couple of boxes after dinner. That was usually the time when the employees would start to leave. All she had to do was take the back entrance and sneak in there. By the time it was 10:00, the last employee left the vicinity.

Hazel placed her free left hand on the silver doorknob and turned it. The gateway opened up to the large warehouse where the bigger residents would be taken should anything happen to them. It was perfect for a few titanosaurs, or even a large group of herd members. This time, however, a lone blue-green _Iguanodon_ lay in the middle of the complex. A single warehouse light shined down upon the idle dinosaur while everywhere else was dark. The feel of the room was warmer than the outside, but still cool.

The woman quickly ran over to her friend, not paying any mind to the door slamming behind her. The navy blue blanket she had draped over her back flew in the air like a cape. Hazel had seen a number of hospital shows, but she never thought that one of her friends would be in this state. Aladar was hooked up to numerous machines that were monitoring his status. The heart monitor created the monotonous beeps along with the characteristic zig-zag lines of his heart rate. His heart rate was normal, which was one thing she was relieved about. The other machines she did not recognize, but she did eye the IV on the left and the tank with the breathing apparatus. If she had to guess, the vets adjusted the fluids they were giving the herd leader to accommodate animals, hence the odd numbers on the labels.

Seeing Aladar like this pained Hazel even more than her broken ribs. His back and torso were wrapped in layers of bandages that ran to the base of his tail. The breathing apparatus on his nose reminded Hazel of a patient that was under serious care, one that Aladar was in.

She sighed and then knelt down next to his head. Amongst all of the things that were on Aladar, he was sleeping soundly. Obviously, he was in a coma but Hazel refused to think about that. To her, she just kept telling herself he was in a deep sleep. Moments of silence passed before she decided to break it. A small smile creased across her face as she tried to keep a lighthearted expression.

"Hey big guy," she said as she watched the sleeping dinosaur. "How's it going?"

As expected, no response came from him. Nevertheless, she kept going as if he had told her that everything was okay. In her mind, she imagined him telling her he wanted to break out of the bonds and the chains of the medical equipment to get back to the herd. She felt amused at the thought of all of the apparatuses being thrown across the room.

"Things are going…pretty okay around here," she told him bluntly. "The herd's slowly adjusting to the new surroundings. Well, they're pretty wary around me, but that's mostly because of what happened recently."

At the thought of the Fireball incident, a pang of guilt struck Hazel's stomach. That event was what caused Aladar to be like this. She shook her head, not wanting to dwell on the past, and the fact that she contributed to his condition.

"The lemurs are doing fine," Hazel continued with optimism. "They're a bit more social around the staff here. Bob tried to get them to stay in the bug house while accommodations were being set up for them. But they kept breaking out. Probably because they always used the ceiling window to sneak out of there. We always leave at least one cracked open so they figured that out. Gave Bob and the others quite a shock."

Saying that caused her to giggle a little. Once again, she imagined the leader laughing with her. "I told them there was no need to make an enclosure for them. As long as they stick within the park, they'll be fine. I had Bob start on setting up a baobab tree next to the herd grounds for them to gather. It'll be similar to the tree we saw back in the Nesting Grounds, where they did their mating ritual. That would be their main gathering site/where their food would be given. It's a good way to keep track of them."

Hazel swallowed some air in an attempt to ease her dry throat. Talking this much was causing her mouth to get dry. She would get up and get some water, but she wanted to stay with Aladar. "The kids are doing okay. Your daughters already made friends with the elephant herd. Especially Mikiya, the matriarch's daughter. Oh you should see them, the elephants I mean. To us humans, they're pretty normal, but they'll be the oddest creatures to you. Martha, our mammoth here, has been doing a good job with keeping an eye on the kids. We'll have to consider her as the official park babysitter. As for Neera…"

Thinking about the alpha female caused the optimism to leave her. What would she say about his mate? There wasn't really anything positive to talk about. She's been worried about him the entire time. The more she thought about what to say, the blanker she got.

"I…already made up with the others. We're okay now," she told the silent Iguanodon while holding back tears. "We're doing fine. We're just waiting for you to…"

She struggled on what to say next. After moments of trying to think on what to say next, she finally gave way. Hazel let out an anguished cry and placed her face on the dinosaur's neck, on the base of his head. As she sobbed, hot tears streamed from her eyes like a waterfall. She then placed her arms around his neck in a hug.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she sobbed in a futile attempt to apologize to the leader. "I didn't mean for this to happen! I wanted to get you all out in time before the Fireball struck, but I didn't know how to tell you! I just wanted you to be happy!"

Hazel then hugged his neck in a tighter embrace, but not in a way to make him suffocate. He may be knocked out, but she was aware that he needed air. "It's all my fault! I should have gotten off of you in time! It's my fault that you're like this!"

The girl stuttered and gasped in the midst of her tears. Compared to when she was apologizing to her friends, the pain she was feeling now was the worst. It was much worse than getting punched in the ribs and feeling the inner parts of your brain get fried to a crisp. Hazel always thought this the day when she first awoke in the hospital, but she did not want to admit it. Now, being with the comatose Aladar, there was nothing holding her back. There was no one she needed to put a tough face on for, not even her friends.

"Come back Aladar...we need you. We all need you. Please come back...so that you can be with your family, your friends. Everyone is lost without you."

Hazel continued to watch the sleeping dinosaur. The tears continued to fall from her eyes and the pain in her heart was at its peak. The young keeper pulled the blanket over her tightly and slunk into a position so as she was laying on him. Her head lay on his like on a pillow and her hand began to stroke his face softly.

The tears that fell slowed down after she let out her anguish. A calm fell over her. She reminisced about the times when she told her friends they were like a family to her. Thinking of that reminded her that she never told any of them about her actual family. Except to her Prehistoric Park guardians, Hazel mentally reminded herself to tell that to the others. Considering that she was alone with the herd leader, and it would help to relieve some of the pain, she recanted her emotions.

"Aladar...you're more than just a friend to me. You're like a big brother. You, along with our friends, Nigel, Bob, Suzanne, and Marcus were the only ones that were as close to a family as I can have."

Fatigue was starting to come over her. Seconds turned into minutes, which then turned into an hour. Hazel did not feel like leaving her friend behind and wanted to stay with him. So, she made up her mind to stay there for the night. Her eyes became heavier and soon sleep was overtaking her body.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered before closing her eyes into the security of the dream world.

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The next day...

Suzanne watched the young woman before her gently prod her breakfast with her fork. Ever since that day Hazel returned from the hospital, she had not been herself. Her normally bottomless pit appetite seemed absent and she was barely getting any sleep.

Just about an hour ago, the vet found her sleeping next to the injured _Iguanodon_ in the infirmary. The head veterinarian was the first to arrive at the warehouse, and it was a good thing too. Talk of Hazel's ability to speak to the residents was spreading quickly. Mixed reactions were erupting from the other staff members, most of which Suzanne disapproved of. She was already well aware that the dinosaur they were trying to save was one of Hazel's friends, but she could not bear to see her in such a depressing emotional state. She thought giving her some breakfast would cheer her up, but even that wasn't working.

The dining hall they were in was built to be like a usual cafeteria. In fact, it was in a similar format to the dining room in Jurassic Park. The people who built the place wanted it to have some kind of similarity to the famous movie, so the setup was similar, if not the same. The walls contained various artistic depictions of dinosaurs on the hunt or grazing. The most famous ones being the _Velociraptors_ on the prowl through the painted forest.

Suzanne chose a nice place to have breakfast; a two person table next to a window that overlooked part of the park. Her breakfast consisted of blueberry pancakes with butter and syrup along with a cup of black coffee. She had already gone through nearly half of her pancakes in a single sitting. As for Hazel, all she had was a stuffed omelet with mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, jalapenos, cheese, ham, and was topped with a drizzle of sriracha sauce.

Hazel, still in her pajamas and poking her omelet like it was some kind of bug, did not notice the sudden cheery expression from one of her guardians.

"So Hazel, about the herd you and Nigel rescued," she started off trying to deviate her from the depressing mood. "I'm still fascinated at the fact that so many animals from different continents and time periods were all together. Where exactly did you find them?"

The Asian did not look up at the elder staff member and continued to play around with her food. "Hundreds of miles from here, 65 million years ago."

"I see…" Suzanne pondered on that. Nigel did mention something about the herd's Nesting Grounds and their location, but that detail escaped her mind at the moment. "What about the lemurs? Where did you find them? They're not supposed to have evolved until much later."

Once again, Hazel responded nonchalantly and in a depressing tone. "Just found a few of them along the way. They're from a far-off island. If it isn't ancient Madagascar, then it's probably something else. The others were from the Nesting Grounds."

The girl's disheartening tone and lack of enthusiasm irritated Suzanne. She wanted to know more about the lemurs, but Hazel's well-being was more important at the moment. As much as she was concerned for her on the situation, her handle on it was seemingly frustrating. Suzanne did her best to keep her concern and frustration under control.

"Hazel, I'm worried about you. Ever since you got back, you've barely eaten anything or gotten enough sleep. Keep this up and you'll get sick," she tried to reason.

"Sorry Suzanne. Just not in the mood," Hazel replied and rested her forehead on the table, but not before pushing her plate of breakfast slightly forward to avoid crashing onto it. There were a lot of things on her mind besides Aladar's condition, which included the well-being of the herd and of everyone in the park.

"I can understand that you're worried about the male Iguano-" the vet started again but was then cut off by the younger keeper.

"He's got a name," she said in an irritated smart-aleck voice. "It's Aladar."

The sympathetic senior member shook her head and cleared her throat. Nigel did tell her that a number of the herd members they rescued had names, but she was having trouble remembering them. In addition, she still found it hard to believe that Hazel could even speak with them.

"Excuse me, Aladar. He's going to be fine. The vets and I have already finished the skin-grafting. Now all that's left is for his body to heal."

Hazel perked her head up when the vet told her that. The burden she felt on her shoulders started to become a little lighter. If the operation was a success, then her friend had a chance. Then again, it was too early to tell if he was going to be okay. Nevertheless, she clung on to the hope that the alpha male was going to survive.

"How long until he's up and running again?" she asked all in one breath.

"A few weeks. I'd give it three," Suzanne answered.

The girl's spirits became downtrodden again. That was the same answer Nigel gave her a few days ago. It would seem that there really wasn't a specific amount of time for third degree burns to heal.

"Hazel, you've been worried about a lot of things. And you've been through a lot too. Maybe you should take a break," Suzanne suggested.

One of the eyebrows on Hazel's face went up. "What do you mean? Aren't I already on break?"

The elder woman shook her head. "No, I mean a REAL break. You haven't been doing anything productive for yourself. All you've mostly been doing is moping around, depressed about the whole situation."

"I've already made up with my friends," Hazel mentioned. She still did not know what she was trying to get at with her taking a break. "That's productive."

"By productive, I mean active. Something to get your mind off of the negative and focus on the positive."

"Like what?" she retorted with slight annoyance. "Spend time with my friends?"

Suzanne nodded earnestly. "Yes something like that!"

"They're in the same boat I'm in. If you know what I mean," the twenty year old replied.

"Then maybe they need a break too," the veterinarian thought. A strand of hair fell from the small ponytail she tied up when she looked down at the table. Instinctively, she pulled the strand back so it would hang behind her ear.

She then looked at the younger woman with a spark in her eyes. "I've got it! Why don't you show them around Prehistoric Park?"

Hazel observed her in astonishment. Give a tour of the park? The idea sounded simple. It would get her moving again. Plus, it would help in getting everyone situated in the new living space, which meant informing the others about the predators in the park. Hazel was already well aware that her friends and even a number of the herd members felt uneasy about being in the valley. Neera told her about the meeting she had with Martha. True, the elephants did not venture into the park that much due to the presence of the predators, especially the Twins and Diablo, but some of them were quite friendly. Irwin was a good candidate; he may look terrifying, but he wasn't that bad. Espantos was another good one, if anyone could get passed his hyperactive demeanor.

As for the Twins, Hazel immediately thought of something that may help in that problem too. Perhaps if she could bring the lemurs along, she could find some way to smack some sense into Terrence and Matilda about being a family. Bob and the other keepers didn't really tell her about the status of the Twins in their "cooperative learning", so she assumed that things were going on the right track.

If she could at least bring her friends, including Neera, around the park and show them the predators they could interact with AND keep away from, then that would ease their fears. In addition, the herd's fears would be calmed when they hear their alpha female's judgement on the place. It was the perfect idea, and one she could agree with.

"I see where you're getting at," Hazel remarked with enthusiasm for the first time in about two weeks. "My friends and a number of the herd members are pretty anxious about being in a sanctuary with carnivores. If I could show them that some of them aren't that bad, then they'll have a different disposition on the place."

"Exactly!" Suzanne applauded and then grabbed the fork on her plate to take another bite of a pancake.

"Thanks Suzanne," she smiled and then proceeded to do the same with her omelet.

This talk she had with the vet cheered her up after all. Now that Aladar has a better chance at surviving and there was a way to prove that predators aren't all bad, things were starting to look up a bit. Hazel brought the plate of cooked egg closer to her, grabbed the fork that was hanging off of the white porcelain plate, and began to eat. Her appetite had returned.

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Later that day…

Valley Sector

It took Hazel a couple of hours to find her friends. She had to wander throughout the entire park to do so. Eventually, she found them at the border between the elephant grounds and the valley sector. Like before, the herd members she came across warded her off with snorts, growls, glares, and a few insults. Hazel felt alienated and oppressed by their actions, but she did not let them ruin her day. They had every right to do so, and the idea that Suzanne suggested to her may bring the herd a step closer to trusting her again.

Before setting out to find her circle, she had to stop by the barracks to get herself ready for the day. 30 minutes later, she was dressed in the short-sleeved hoodie and the denim shorts she wore before. Hazel mentally reminded herself to thank Suzanne for washing her clothes a few days ago because they smelled like soot and had smoke stains.

When she found her friends, they were conversing with an oddly solitary Martha. The group consisted of the lemurs, Talin, Alden, Tirech, Charon, and Flia all in front of the mammoth. Baylene, Eema, and Url were nowhere to be found. Hazel assumed they were off eating or doing some explorations of their own.

The woman wondered why Martha was alone rather than with the rest of the elephant herd, at least until she stepped up to them. Her answer came in the form of Martha explaining to her matriarch to take over babysitting Mikiya for the day to help her friends, especially Neera, with adjusting to the park. She was on the subject on why the male elephants were separated from Mujaji's herd when Hazel approached them.

When she did, she was met with accusations from Yar about her people keeping predators in the valley. Neera had told them about it long before her arrival, which resulted in everyone getting nervous. Martha reassured them that the predators would not harm them so long as they kept their distance. However, when the alpha female brought it up, the human disagreed. Hazel told them the predators here, at least most of them, may be dangerous, but some of them were pretty friendly. That led to her suggesting the idea of giving them a tour. Martha was slightly apprehensive about the idea, but eventually, she relented. The mega-fauna only told them about slight details about the park and agreed that the best way for her friends, and the herd, to get used to the park would be to see it for themselves. The idea went smoothly and the group departed, leaving the mammoth to return to her herd. However, the gang still bore feelings of anxiousness about the idea of living with carnivores.

Due to the amount of distance they were going to travel, the lemurs chose to ride on Neera instead of expending energy hopping everywhere. Flia did the same and hitched a ride on the fuchsia _Iguanodon's_ back. Despite the added weight on the dinosaur, she really wasn't bothered by it. In fact, all of them combined together were not that heavy.

"Hazel, are you sure this is a good idea?" Neera asked the determined human girl.

"Sure is," she replied as they walked on across the elephant grounds towards the main part of the park. "If you guys are going to be here, the best way to check out the whole place would be a tour."

Yar let out a huff and scowled behind the human's back. "I still can't believe you humans bothered to rescue the things that eat us! What is wrong with you!?"

"Yar, this valley is a sanctuary for all creatures of the past, including predators. We humans aren't discriminatory. Rescuing the predators is the same as rescuing you guys. Your kind along with all of the other residents here, except for the creatures of this time, no longer walk this earth. This is the 21st century after all. We save prehistoric creatures of the past like you so that you can have a better chance at survival," Hazel explained with confidence. She hoped that explanation would at least ease their fears a little.

"And what if the predators decide to come after us? Then what are you going to do?" the elder lemur accused again.

"They won't," the young keeper reassured. "Because we humans have developed a way to prevent any breakouts from happening. It's hard to explain it right now, so I'll have to show you."

Yar became quiet after a hard nudge from his daughter in front of him. She too was apprehensive about meeting predators, but she trusted Hazel's word. The lemur matriarch felt that if they were going to stay there, then the best thing to do would be to see what areas her family and by extension the herd members could go to and the areas they needed to stay away from. Her father's attitude towards the situation was making things more difficult.

"So the carnivores won't hurt us?" Alden spoke up worriedly. He was walking alongside his mother rather than with his brother and friends in front of him. After hearing about carnivores in the park, the little ornithopod became edgy about being in the valley. As a result, he never left his mother's side for the past few days.

"Nope," Hazel answered. "And like I said before; some of the carnivores are quite friendly once you meet them. All of the other ones…not so much. I'll point them all out."

After some time walking through the long grass fields of the elephant savannah, they eventually made it to the first enclosure at the edge of the park. The enclosure was surrounded by wooden fences made by the trees in the surrounding area. The plants within were large, the perfect size for any tall herbivore. A pond was partially hidden from their view, but it was situated off to the left side of the enclosure. The ground was mostly grass, but there were a number of dirt patches in parts of the area.

The small group of prehistoric creatures stared in awe at the creatures within the amiable-sized enclosure. Two of them, males as Hazel pointed out, had bright orange feathers on their backs that ran down to their tail while the rest of their body was of a blue-coloring. The females lacked the bright coloration and had grey feathers.

The creatures were tall, but not as tall as Baylene. They stood on two legs and had gigantic scythe-like claws; both of which were characteristics of carnivores. However, they also had pot-bellies, a long S-shaped neck, and no sharp teeth at all. These creatures were just as peculiar as the elephants they came across in the park.

The nearest male in front of them was slashing away at a tree trunk with its ginormous claws. The slashing sounds it made caused difficulty for Hazel in communicating with her friends.

From what they could grasp from the human's explanation, the creatures they were looking at were _Therizinosaurus_. The children and the lemurs tensed up when she told them they were related to predators, but was put at ease when Hazel informed them that they were actually herbivores and used their claws for grabbing tree branches and cutting off leaves.

The children giggled as they continued to watch the male _Therizinosaurus_ perform his strange antics. They even commented on how funny they looked. Hazel explained that they weren't that bad and were friendly. However, their time there was cut short when they spotted another male approaching the one before them. The two clawed dinosaurs did not realize they had an audience as they sized each other up. The creatures hissed at each other and went into a battle stance; heads low to the ground and their scythe-like claws splayed out to their sides to make themselves appear larger than they were. As they circled around, Hazel quickly explained to them that it was the mating season and the males were competing for mating rights, if not dominance.

Hazel had to signal her friends to move on with the tour. She did not want the children to see any bloody fighting that would ruin her attempt at making them comfortable. As they walked away from the enclosure, Hazel took out the walkie-talkie she had clipped on her shorts pocket and informed a couple of vets in the park about the battle about to occur in the _Therizinosaurus_ enclosure.

The next stop they went to was a particular pond nearby. When they caught sight of the off-place watering hole, the children and Zini made their way towards the water. Neither of them minded the wooden bridge that was positioned before them.

It looked like any normal watering hole except for a few differences. It was surrounded by vegetation, but there were a number of wooden structures on each side of the pond. The lake was not as large as the one in the valley, but it did have a considerable amount of water. Oddly enough to the prehistoric creatures, there was a strange human-made structure that ran from one edge of the lake to the other in the distance. It was like a log, except it was more flimsy and more flat.

When the children and the yellow-furred lemur stopped at the water's edge to take a drink, Hazel hurried over there and stood behind them. Neera followed close behind, cautious about what sort of area they were now in. If any of them looked off into the distance at the furthest edge of the lake, they would notice some dark-scaled crocodiles bathing in the sun; their sharp teeth hanging from their mouths like small knives.

"Whoo! Water!" Talin cheered and began to drink from the lake.

"Finally! I'm parched!" Zini agreed and dipped his hand into the liquid in the form of a cup.

"Zini, I don't know if that's a good idea," Aya warned offhandedly. She was worried that her new mate may get himself into trouble. This was a new area and they were unsure of what kind of creatures lived here.

"She's right you guys. I wouldn't drink here if I were you. This lake is actually home to a certain Resident," Hazel added, trying to warn them about the possible danger.

"Resident?" Charon's curiosity piqued. She eyed the human, wondering what kind of creature would live in a place like this. "What kind?"

Tirech did the same and took a step towards the human. "Is it friendly?"

Hazel was about to respond when she caught sight of a few bubbles breaking the surface a few feet before the boardwalk. Butterflies in her stomach began to stir as the bubbles became a little bigger. She used her free left hand to gesture everyone to step back to avoid getting splashed by the oncoming resident.

"Well, you guys are about to find out," she simply said.

Suddenly, a huge form broke the surface. Water splashed onto the boardwalk and partially soaked the group. The children screamed in surprise at the sudden appearance and ran for the safety of Neera's legs. Zini, now soaked, yelped and leaped over to Hazel, desperately trying to hide himself behind one of her legs.

The creature that broke the surface had a large head ending in a narrow snout. When the water died down, they could all make out a series of sharp, gray scales along its sleek body. Menacing, reptilian eyes stared at them all from the top of its head. The creatures muzzle contained a series of sharp teeth along its mouth, making everyone but Hazel nervous.

"G'day mates!" the _Deinosuchus_ greeted with a deep rumble of laughter.

The children all screamed at the sudden appearance of the predator. Neera and Flia immediately got into a defensive stance while the lemurs cowered in fear. Hazel noticed this and simply rolled her eyes.

"Guys, it's okay," she told them and gave them a reassuring look. "He's not going to hurt you."

"Are you sure about that?" Flia replied with an accusing glance at both the human and the prehistoric crocodilian. "Because he was about to eat us!"

"Oh not bloody likely no!" Irwin shook his head in refusal. "I just ate. I just love to scare folks is all. There's no way I'd ever hurt a fellow resident or even a human."

Talin, still shivering in fear, slowly strode forward to the semi-aquatic predator. He was still nervous about the predator, but he wanted to really know if he was tricking them or not.

"You're…not going to hurt us?" the little blue-green _Iguanodon_ asked.

"And how are you even talking!?" Zini added. "Predators can't talk!"

Irwin let out a chuckle, which caused a couple of ripples in the water to flow out from his body. "No, I know a new resident when I see one." The croc answering the young iguanodon's concern.

He then gave a playful scowl at the yellow-furred primate hiding behind Hazel's leg. "And we predators can talk! It's just we choose not to at times. Would give ourselves away when hunting."

"Anyway," Hazel interjected, wanting to change the subject to the introductions. "Everyone, this is Irwin. He's our resident _Deinosuchus_."

Afterwards, she gestured her left hand over to her friends and introduced them one by one by name. "And Irwin, these are a few of my friends. That's Neera, she's the alpha female of the new herd. Plio and family are the lemurs on her back, well except Zini who's behind my leg. Flia is the _Pteranodon_. And finally, there are the children; Talin, his brother Alden, Charon and Tirech."

"Strewth! So these are the ones that survived that Fireball everyone's talking about?" the prehistoric reptile gestured over to the human.

Hazel nodded in agreement. "Yup, just a few of them."

"Wait, how does he know about that?" Suri perked her head up at the mention of the recent disaster.

"Word travels fast," Irwin responded. "Really sorry about your loss. But everything will start to look up."

The whole group could not believe what they were hearing. A predator apologizing for the disaster they went through? Normally, a predator would come after them with the intent to eat them for survival. Yet this creature is empathizing for their loss of their home and indirectly their leader and friend's injuries. Even talking to a predator would sound absurd to anyone who hasn't come across them in this place. Hearing those words come out of the prehistoric crocodilian's mouth strangely brought ease to them.

"You folks now have a new place to crash rather than lying in the dirt or be barbecued to death."

"Barbecue?" Neera's curiosity piqued at the sound of the new term. She first stared at the crocodile for an explanation then at Hazel. The girl chuckled at the mention of that phrase and waved a hand at her to dismiss the response.

"It's a term around here."

The _Pteranodon_ perched on the _Iguanodon's_ back hopped off and took a few steps towards the predator. She made sure to not step too close to the edge of the boardwalk. This predator may be friendly to them, but her and the herd's encounters with carnivores left scars in their minds. However, she was curious about this one; how could a mighty predator like this be on good terms with humans? Or even begin to chat with potential prey?

"So…you said that predators here can't attack others," Flia started and then cocked an eye ridge up. "How do we know you won't pull a fast one on anyone here?"

Irwin let out a sigh and then raised his great head up a little bit. "Well it's best if you see it for yourself."

It was then that Hazel realized what he was about to do. She knew that the barrier around Irwin's pond was recently set up, but she was starting to assume that he was going to demonstrate by putting himself in danger. The hoodie-clad female gasped and then put on a face of concern.

"Irwin, are you insane!? You're talking about letting a whole lot of volts go through your body!"

The _Deinosuchus_ shook his head in disagreement. "Nah, I'm not going through with that."

In response to his own statement, he swam to the side to show his left. The dinosaurs, lemurs, and pterosaur immediately got a good picture on the size of this resident. He was enormous, about 40 feet in length and his head was only a little bigger than Hazel herself. The pond was large enough for him to move around in, so he had no problem adjusting his position. Irwin then rolled onto his right slightly to allow his left forelimb to go up. It was then that the prehistoric creatures got a good view of a peculiar blue ring close to his body.

"What is that?" Neera was the first to ask.

Irwin opened his great maw to answer her question, but was then beaten by Hazel on timing. "That is a special collar that the staff here created to prevent any breakouts. That's why I said that you won't have anything to worry about here. If anyone wearing that collar gets too close to the edge of their enclosure, they'll get a sharp jolt through their body."

"Yeah it's not really painful to me," the croc commented. He had swum back to his original position in front of the group in the blink of an eye. A few splashes of water made contact with their skin, wetting them a little bit. "But the humans put these up as a safety precaution for them. I can understand why they did, but I really don't need it. I wouldn't even think about hurting anyone here."

Hazel put her hands on her hips and eyed the reptile calmly. "Well it's like you said Irwin, it's a safety precaution."

"So if you're not going to eat us, then what do you eat?" Charon spoke up, breaking her silence.

"Well…," Irwin turned his attention to the young _Parasaurolophus_ and the rest of the children that were now leaning over the edge of the boardwalk. "The humans here treat me to a lot of meat on the menu, all of which are part of the modern-day menu. Cows, sheep, pigs, and goats are what they give me. If you're worried about the humans turning their backs on you and feeding you lot to us predators, then that's a load of bull dust. They care about our well-being and wouldn't even think about killing the ones they're trying to save."

That was a moment of clarity for the audience of prehistoric creatures. In their minds, they now know the reason why the predators, at least a number of them according to Hazel, would not dare attack anyone. It was because the humans were showing them kindness and were appealing to their appetites with creatures other than themselves.

However, one thing still bothered them, especially Neera. If the humans fed the predators other animals in this time, then would that make them killers as well? Would that mean the creatures would still be alive when they are being fed to the carnivores? That thought bothered the alpha female and the doubt she had for the humans began to return.

"Wait, so if the humans here feed you, then is your food still alive?" she proclaimed.

Hazel spoke up in immediate response to that question. She knew that sort of question would pop up and thankfully, she was prepared for it. "No, the food is dead. So there wouldn't be any sort of torture to the animal that is being fed to the predators. If you're thinking that we have to kill the animals first around here so that they can be food, then you should rethink that because when we get them, they're already dead."

Hazel's explanation brought relief to the alpha's and everyone's ears. Neera recalled before her first meeting with Martha about Hazel and the humans using her herd to feed the predators of the park while promising them safety. Hearing Hazel explain that she and the other humans won't use them as food brought even more ease to the leader.

Everyone in the group relaxed at that proclamation. Well…almost. Yar still bore a face of serious discretion. Seeing that expression on the lemur's face gave Hazel the assumption that he was not convinced about everyone's safety in the valley.

The girl sighed and shook her head. _"Looks like I'll have to work a little harder on convincing Yar."_

The conversation between the prehistoric creatures wore on for at least a few more minutes. The children spoke up the most, as they were eager to know more about Irwin. He responded with a couple of memories in his past on battling others like himself for territory, complete with showing the children the collection of scars all over his body. The lemurs were mostly quiet, as they wanted to keep to themselves from the predator. As for Neera and Flia, they too were wary about Irwin, but strangely enough, they were starting to get relaxed around him. Hazel smiled as this went on, knowing that the plan was working.

The girl then stretched her free arm out and then looked up at the sky. It was still bright, however the light of the sun's rays was slowly moving down from the clouds. She and the group had spent enough time at Irwin's pond. If they stayed there any longer, then they won't have enough time to explore the rest of the park.

"Alright, well it's nice talking to you Irwin, but we need to get going. Lots of things to see here in the park and so many more residents to meet," she told him and began to walk over to the other side of the bridge.

The group of prehistoric creatures noticed this and closely followed behind the human. The lemurs all climbed back onto the lavender-skinned _Iguanodon_ before she walked off. As for Flia, she stuck closely behind the human rather than hitching a ride on the ornithopod. She wanted to at least put in some exercise and the best way to do so would be to walk alongside her friend, other than flying.

"Alright, take it easy you lot. And welcome to the Park," Irwin welcomed before swimming off to another end of the pond. The splashes he made faded away as they put in more distance from the water. If they bothered to look back, they would see him submerge into the body of water, completely disappearing from view.

Hazel rolled her shoulders as they walked on. That was one predator on the list she could cross off. While they were conversing with the super-croc, she noticed the expressions on her friends' faces changing. At first, they were apprehensive, but as they got to know Irwin a little, they began to let their guard down. The girl felt happy that this idea of introducing the friendly predators to them was off to a good start.

" _Hopefully by the end of today, everyone will have a better perspective of Prehistoric Park."_

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Eastern edge of the Park…Rascal's Grove

As Hazel led her friends to more of their prehistoric neighbors, they were passing by an enclosure that held tropical trees and a watering hole with a few sandbars. The keeper detested going here, but it was the only way to get to the next Residents in a prompt manner without wasting time. As she prayed for his absence, life seemed to have other ideas in mind.

"Well look who just got out of the slammer! How you doin' brat?" Out of the foliage of the enclosure came a grating New York gangster-esque voice that Hazel recognized all too well. The group stopped and turned curiously to see the small, unassuming form of a _Troodon_. His hide was an unmistakable light tan that was accompanied by green stripes that were all over his back. Hazel rolls her eyes and puts on a forced smile at the predator in an attempt to be cordial with the annoyance of a theropod.

"Hello Rascal," Hazel said with gritted teeth. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking." The young keeper urged her friends to follow as she strode off to their destination. Unfortunately, the _Troodon_ kept pace with the group, following them from his side of the fence bars.

"And look who she brought! Ain't you fellas a colorful bunch," Rascal said as he sized up each of Hazel's prehistoric friends. The tan biped eyed the still striding human girl with a mocking look on his face, "Some new bodyguards girly? Or are they your new pets?"

The group of friends were outraged at the attitude the scrawny meat-eater was giving as Flia glared at the _Troodon_ , stopping the group as a result.

"We're not her pets! We're her friends!" The _Pteranodon_ growled.

"Yeah! And she's one of us so go mind your own business, bird-thing!" Talin defended his human friend. Rascal was amused at the powerful response he got from the newbies of the Park.

"Oh ho! So her 'friends' got some attitude. That's cute. Are the little babies going to come and beat me up? Then why don't you get over here and we'll find out?" Rascal grinned, displaying his razor sharp teeth. While it unnerved the younglings, they stood firm to defend Hazel.

"You asking for a beating? I'll take you down no problem!" the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ of the group found the courage to speak as he snapped his beak as menacingly as the youngling could. Alden tried to be the voice of reason for his friends and wanted to leave the Troodon behind them.

"Guys, we should just leave..."

"Aw...is the wittle purple kiddie too scared to take me on?" With a new target to pick on, Rascal focused his attention on the timid purple _Iguanodon_. Alden clammed up immediately when the caged predator paid direct attention to him.

"No...it's...it's just..."

"What are ya? Chicken!?" Rascal kept mocking the youngling's stuttering by moving his arms like a chicken and clucking to make fun of the group's cowardice further.

Charon led the teary Alden away from the bully of a theropod to his mother. Neera was currently giving the _Troodon_ a burning glare for upsetting her baby boy. Rascal paid no heed to Neera's paternal fury as he laughed at what his handy work caused.

"Hazel, who is this scum?" Neera said, still scowling at the confined predator. The young keeper sighed, already feeling weary from putting up with the disrespectful carnivore's antics, as she acknowledged her fuchsia friend.

"Remember when I said that there are some predators you should stay away from? Rascal here is one of them," the girl gestured to the smug looking predator, who continued to harass them.

"Hey Hazel, who's that walking leaf-sucker you're talking to? Cause she's too ugly to be your sister!" The lightweight predator was on his back laughing again, once again ignoring the hateful glares of the tour group. Zini leaped towards the wooden bars and leered at the Troodon.

"Hey buddy, you better shut it before I get over there and teach you a lesson!" The lemur's threats were met with a scoff.

"Oh look, it's a yellow rat! The heck happened to you pint-size? Ya pee on yourself out of fear?" Zini was about to leap at the tan _Troodon_ in order to fulfill his threat, but Hazel snatched him up and put him back with his family on Neera's back.

"Don't take anything what he says seriously Zini. He's just a disrespectful punk." Hazel tried to placate the group, wanting to get back on track visiting the friendlier Residents of Prehistoric Park.

"Yo girly! Your human buddies are late with my lunch! Do me a favor and get me some grub here before I chomp on one of your pets!" In emphasis, Rascal snapped his jaws, scaring the lemur family and younglings. The human keeper and matured dinosaurs' of the group gave Rascal a look, him gaining their ire.

"Rascal why don't you just beat it and take a nap!? We got a lot of folks that need to be fed so back off!" Hazel's scathing remark was met with a glare from Rascal as he stalked forward as close as he could to his fence to look the woman straight in the eyes.

"You'd better show me some respect Hazel-nut! You piss me off and I'll tear this place up like last time!"

"Please! You can't do squat without a thirty-meter long sauropod doing the deed, and you didn't even plan for it last time! Besides, Yin made sure to tell her flock to squish you if you _ever_ tried to pull that crap again." Rascal growled at Hazel for belittling him with her witty remark.

Her group, not in the know, was curious as to how the slender meat-eater could wreak havoc for the massive park sanctuary.

"Last time? What's he talking about?" Plio asked as she perched on Hazel's shoulder. The Asian girl skirted away from talking more about Rascal's origins as she urged her friends to follow her to the next location of her tour.

"Long story guys. You know what, we've wasted enough time with this sleazebag. While you guys should stay away from the other dangerous carnivores, Rascal is just the nuisance of the Park. Come on, let's get out of here." Just as they were leaving the Troodon's enclosure, Rascal decided to impart one last comment to the prehistoric group.

"Hey pink lady! You shake your ass real sexy-like when you walk!"

Neera growled in rage at the lecherous dinosaur as she stalked back to the cackling _Troodon_. The Alpha Female wanted to turn the carnivore into a red smear on the ground for his commentary on her posterior. Hazel quickly ran forward to grab to enraged female around her neck to lead her away. While causing bodily harm to Rascal appealed to her, Hazel didn't want her friend to outright kill him.

"Ignore him Neera. He's just messing with you. Don't listen to him." With a grunt, Neera backed off to rejoin her waiting friends. Hazel decided to ease the ire of her friends as she continued to lead onwards.

"But you do have a _slight_ sway in your hips when you walk Neera." Hazel snickered, causing the rest of the group to laugh, or at the very least grin, at the joking human. Neera was graceful enough to take the joke as she flushed in embarrassment.

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Central area of the Park… The Bughouse…

As the group continued on their trek, Hazel led them to another enclosure. Hazel led them past a number of Residents to get to the next friendly carnivore in the Park. The Asian had to admit, she didn't interact with many of the Residents on a personal level, but she was on good terms with most of them.

The group did pass by the _Ornithomimus_ paddock, but only remained for a few minutes. The bird-like ornithopods were grazing in the pond or near it. The fast runners were mostly gray in color and their heads were blue with black spots on their backs, at least for the males. The females lacked that blue coloring, save for a little bit on their head, but they did have the same spots. They were similar to the _Struthiomimus_ in the herd in personality, but they had a faint blue-gray hide with a tan underbelly and on their heads. To the tour group, they spoke as if they were one voice and in a spontaneous manner. Hazel had quite an easy time with the introductions, but because there was more to see, the meeting had to be cut short.

Neera and Flia were scared away by the deep grunting of the Park's _Elasmotherium_ as they were passing by. He was grazing on grass near the fence of the enclosure, so the sudden snort of his breath took the group off guard. In Hazel's opinion, the Ice Age rhino always seemed to be in a bad mood, so she usually kept her distance; she didn't want to be run through by that MASSIVE black horn that he possessed on his skull. Hazel quickly led Neera and the others away and left the grumpy _Elasmotherium_ in peace.

Hazel wanted to introduce the _Protoceratops_ babies, but it was their naptime. The children were disappointed when they heard that the introductions with new potential playmates would have to wait, but the young keeper promised they would meet them sometime soon. Another reason why they avoided that area was because of the location of the large infirmary. Hazel did not want to put a depressing atmosphere among her friends and wanted to keep the touring in a good mood. Keeping them oblivious to the location of their leader, even if some of them knew where he was, seemed to be the best at the moment.

The next stop was the Bughouse. The dinosaurs present were confused as to why Prehistoric Park built a building dedicated to only 3 bugs as Hazel led them inside. She and Plio's family knew the reason; Plio said that Yar and Aya nearly had a heart attack when they first saw the bugs. It was a jarring experience for Flia, Neera, and the kids to adjust to the increase of oxygen levels, but they were amazed at what they saw inside. The lush vegetation was almost too thick to walk through. It surrounded the group and didn't seem to end as they followed Hazel to a clearing of the dense indoor jungle. The clearing had many tropical plants that the dinosaurs and lemurs couldn't identify; the outer perimeter was covered in massive green ferns, the only plant-life that was familiar to the group. The area was complete with a manmade pond with lily pads, algae, and logs to simulate a swamp. Neera, Flia, and the kids' observation of the greenhouse were interrupted by a familiar, yet louder than normal, sound of the beating wings of a dragonfly. What shocked them was the fact that the dragonfly was the size of a large bird! Greeting them was Prehistoric Park's _Meganeura_ , who sped towards them and hovered uncomfortably close to each of the newcomers' faces; his wing beats' power being felt through the amount of air being pushed into their faces.

" _Hello! Hello! Hello Scaled-Legs! Me is Twitch_ _Why here in Twitch's jungle-house? What is you? You is Hazel-Two Legs' friend-friends? Why is you no talk-speak when Twitch speak-talk with Twitch's mandibles!?_ " The _Meganeura_ energetically greeted in one breath, as he hyperactively chittered after each of his sentences.

Twitch always seemed to be on a permanent caffeine rush. The giant dragonfly only had two modes he lived by. The first is "GO FAST!", the second is "GO FASTER-ER!". Hazel swore Twitch got _Sonic the Hedgehog_ beat when it came to his breakneck flight speeds. It was like the Meganeura was set indefinitely on the "fast-forward" function of a movie.

"What in the world?" Flia was freaked out at the sight of the giant dragonfly with the wingspan of her _head_ from beak to crest buzzing mere inches from her face. As the group continued to observe the buzzing giant insect, now perched on a log in the nearby pond, Hazel spotted the Park's _Pulmonoscorpius_ sneaking up on the group.

"Oh no you don't Scorpio!" Hazel acted quickly and snatched the stealthy scorpion by her tail-stinger before she could poison anybody.

"HAZEL-TWO LEGS! LET GO OF SCORPIO'S STING!" The female _Pulmonoscorpius_ shrieked in indignation as she hung by her tail, twisting and writhing in anger like a fish out of water, courtesy of Hazel.

"Be nice young lady. Just came by to introduce my friends to the Residents of the Park." The keeper's only response was outraged screaming, as Scorpio kept wildly flailing to escape Hazel's clutches.

The small, yet still larger than her present day descendants, female arachnid was always confrontational when faced with things bigger than her; which was pretty much everything considering she was only 3-feet long. Hazel knew how to deal with her bouts of anger and had the solution: grab her by the barbed tail and move her away from the place that got her so stressed. The female scorpion was squirming in the young keeper's grasp as the bug tried pinching the human with her sizable pincers to release her. Although Hazel kept her grip on the arthropod's stinger, she bit her lip in pain as it still caused her pain when Scorpio's pincers pinched at the girl's unprotected skin. Hazel had plenty of practice handling the dog-sized scorpion; her many stings from the past being the girl's experience to learn to increase her reflexes around the giant scorpion.

The young Prehistoric Park keeper figured that the irate scorpion had a "Napoleon Complex", since she always looked ready to strike anything larger than her; which unfortunately meant everyone since she was petite when compared to her "housemates" and other people she came across. Hazel rectified the scorpion's mood by placing her on a tall trunk of a nearby tree. As the young woman backed away quickly, narrowly dodging Scorpio's lashing barbed tail, the _Pulmonoscorpius_ relaxed slightly. The female arthropod was satisfied that she was now "taller" than all of the new comers and could see all of them with her eight-beady eyes from her vantage point. Hazel's friends gawked at the abnormally sized crawlers, but were even more amazed at the third Bug Resident.

The children, who scrambled away from the ornery scorpion, all climbed up what they thought was a large log that was half buried into the ground. They all tumbled off into a pile to the side when their refuge _moved_ on it's own! Rearing up to his full height was Ben, Prehistoric Park's _Arthoplerua_. The impromptu tour guide had to get her dinosaur friends to calm down from the giant millipede's sudden arrival. Despite Ben's menacing stance and snapping mandibles, he was actually a big softy and one of Hazel's favorite Residents even before her gift of "Prehistoric Speak".

The young keeper snapped off some sizeable ferns and walked forward to indulge in Ben's "hello" while her friends looked on in fascination. Trying to stand as tall as she could, she held the ferns behind her back and began moving instep with the man-sized millipede. When Ben shifted left, Hazel moved right. When Ben shifted right, Hazel moved left. When he lunged slightly forward, Hazel copied and did the same, laughing all the while. It was like an odd game of "Simon Says". To Neera, Flia, Plio's family, and the younglings who watched the exchange, it looked like a bizarre dance between the human girl and mega-arthropod.

Ben, satisfied with Hazel participation in his game, lowered to the ground more relaxed. The Carboniferous bug crawled forward and around Hazel to get to his favorite food in the young woman's hands. Hazel giggled, both from amusement and the feel of the giant millipede's multiple legs, as she tried to keep the ferns she held out of reach by extending her arm as far away from Ben as she could. It was proven to be a moot point since he climbed on her back and reached over Hazel's miniscule form, glomping the Asian girl in the process. As he ate his food literally over Hazel's shoulder, Ben noticed for the first time the arm cast Hazel wore to set her broken arm to heal. The _Arthroplerua_ climbed off the human girl's back and reared up again to properly assess the injury Hazel received. His mandibles carefully probed the hardened medical gauze around the 20-year-old's arm and looked up at Hazel to meet her gaze. After several minutes of looking back and forth between Hazel and her injury, Ben inquired in his usual, and surprisingly baritone, lethargic voice.

" **Hazel-Two Legs smash-crush Hazel-Two Legs' chitin-shell? Is Hazel-Two Legs be okay?** " His mandibles chittered in concern; the other two Carboniferous Bugs flew and skittered respectively towards the young keeper and began doting over her as well. Twitch hovered and zipped in front of the young woman, rapidly firing off questions and asking what he could do to help. Scorpio scolded Hazel for being careless enough to even receive injuries in the first place. The ancient scorpion's backhanded comments reminded the Asian girl of the "tsundere" trope that was popular in many forms of media; Hazel always knew Scorpio had a soft side to her under that rough exoskeleton.

If Twitch was permanently set on "fast forward", then Ben's voice and tone was set in "slow-motion". It gave the mega-millipede a seemingly lazy personality if anyone could understand him. In actuality, Ben liked to carefully choose his words; unlike Twitch who did not have a "brain-to-mouth" filter or Scorpio who always heatedly threatened things bigger than her. Hazel was touched by the ancient arthropods' concern for her wellbeing.

"I'm fine guys, really. I just got in a scuffle with a 4-ton bully. No need to worry." Hazel caressed the top of Ben's chitin clad head to assure the Park's Bugs that she was in good health. Each of the Carboniferous Bugs' faces', while near expressionless due to their naturally hardened exoskeleton, expressed doubt at her claims, but didn't press the matter.

After introducing them to her tour group, the two parties relaxed slightly and interacted with each other; except for Scorpio who scuttled back her tall tree to regain her vantage point and "towering stature" over the strangers. Ben had Alden and Suri riding on his back as he skittered on the ground in a zigzag pattern, acting as a literal "roach coach" for his two passengers enjoying the ride. Talin, Tirech, and Charon were joyously playing tag with Twitch. More accurately, the game was "Everyone try to tag the Dragonfly" since Twitch always tagged the younglings before they could gain significant distance from him. The dragonfly decreased his insane speed to indulge the children in their game, but he always flittered just out of their reach when they thought they had him cornered. Aya was supervising the trio playing with the _Meganeura,_ making sure they didn't get into to too much trouble. While the colossal Bugs were entertaining the kids, Hazel was off to the side with her tour group answering their questions.

"Wow, these guys are huge! What in the world do you feed them?" Zini exclaimed, still amazed at the titanic arthropods.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around Hazel's funky dance with that beetle thing," Flia quipped, gaining her slight laughs and chuckles at her joke.

"Millipede actually…" Hazel paused for a moment to reconsider her answer, "Or is centipede? I can never remember what Nigel settled on classifying Ben."

"Ben?" the _Pteranodon_ cocked her head in confusion at the odd name. Her human friend just shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, Ben. The Park named him that before Nigel built the communicator. We had to name him something, and _Arthroplerua_ isn't really easy to say in conversation."

"Well, 'Ben' there scared me half to death when the other humans tried to put us in here. I thought those bugs were going to eat us!" Yar grunted as he watched the millipede skittering surprisingly fast for a bug his size. Plio rolled her eyes at her dad's statement.

"Dad, all that happened was you taking a spill into the pond when he reared up since you were snoring on his back." The elderly lemur just grumbled as the group laughed at his misfortunate experience.

"Don't worry. Ben there is an herbivore. Those huge mandibles are used for cutting down leaves and breaking up roots, NOT eating lemurs," Hazel said, reassuring her friends of their safety.

"The only carnivores are Scorpio and Twitch. We feed them insects like grasshoppers and cockroaches. But we occasionally give Twitch some frogs too." As she said that, Scorpio managed to snag a grasshopper that strayed too close to her direction. Her pincers holding it down as her barbed-tail delivered the lightning fast final blow, it was over in less than 3 seconds. Scorpio was screaming out her praises of how superior she was to the "dumb hoppy-food". Hazel chuckled in embarrassment at the giant arthropod's exuberant behavior as she continued.

"Besides, they wouldn't know what to do with mammals and dinosaurs because they weren't around during their time." Neera was surprised at that new piece of information.

"They weren't? But our species has been around for many generations, how have we not seen or heard of these creatures?" Neera questioned.

The others nodded in agreement. They were pretty sure they would have remembered bugs of that magnitude if they ever came across them.

"You're right. Dinosaurs and mammals have been around for millions of years. But Ben, Twitch, and Scorpio predate your species by millions of years from even YOUR point in time," Hazel explained to her confused friends.

"During their time, the Carboniferous period as my species calls it, bugs were the dominant life-form on the planet. Dinosaurs and mammals didn't come around until much later." Her audience was amazed at the bizarre arthropods that were in fact older then both of their species.

"As for your question Zini," the keeper said, acknowledging his previous question, "do you guys notice the air in here?" Hazel received nods from her friends, indicating that they have noticed.

"It did take me by surprise." Neera confessed.

"That was one of the reasons the troop wanted to leave because of the uncomfortable air." Plio answered for her family.

"I was nearly gasping for breath when we stepped in here. I've never felt like that before. It was like TOO much air coming at me at once." Flia said. She was a pterosaur, therefore, comfortable in low oxygen levels while she was soaring at her cruising altitude of 10,000 feet. But just being in the indoor jungle was overwhelming for Flia. She breathed in air from ocean-level that was less jarring than the levels in the greenhouse.

"Well, the bug house is currently emitting TWICE the amount of oxygen than what our species are used to," Hazel explained. "The bugs that you guys are familiar with are only that small because they can't technically breathe in air. Bugs can't support themselves in low oxygen environments, which cause them to grow small. The bug residents time period's oxygen levels, however, were perfect for them and what let them grow so massive."

Her friends were slightly confused at her lengthy explanation of "bug biology", but they got the general idea, "More air equals giant bugs".

"Nigel saved them from a forest fire that scorched their swamp in seconds."

"How do you burn down a swamp? Would the water make it too damp for anything to catch fire?" Neera's curiosity prompted Hazel to pull out a matchbox she kept in her pocket. Her friends recognized the box that held the "fire sticks" that started the campfires at their former home. Hazel lit her match on her cast and her prehistoric friends watched as the flame at the tip quickly engulfed the stick; faster than when the human girl used them in the past. She fumbled a little due to the cast she had, and only had her left hand to retrieve a match, but she managed nonetheless.

"Oxygen is what allows fires to burn. Because the Carboniferous period had twice the level of oxygen when compared to the present, a LOT of things were flammable in that time period. Even in a swamp." Hazel told her curious friends as she now held the match on her right hand with her fingers then wetted her free fingers with her saliva. She pinched at the source of the flame, snuffing it out, much to the relief to the Bugs of the Park.

"Another thing that _bugs_ me though," Zini snorted at his own pun as the others rolled their eyes. "Why do they all talk like, 'ME BIG BUG, YOU TWO-LEG HAZEL!'? It's kinda weird," the yellow furred lemur recalling the Park's Bug's broken speaking.

"I'm not quite sure myself. I tried asking Ben and the others, but it was a little hard to decipher the answer when it is also in broken English," the young keeper admitted. "But from what I could glean from what I DID understand, is that the Bugs didn't evolve proper voice-boxes; they never needed to talk. Most of the time, they communicate with body language and gestures. Ben was the first to try talking shortly after I got my communicator. The others followed suit, since he's their unofficial leader."

Her prehistoric friends were interested in the human girl's explanation.

"Why would they go out of their way to develop a way to barely talk if they were fine with body language?" Flia's query was met with a sad smile from her best friend.

"They wanted to get to know me, or more specifically what happens outside," Hazel said to her tour group as her smile dampened slightly. "Flia, despite how big this greenhouse is, these guys are trapped in here. They can't step out of the Bug House for extended periods without suffering oxygen deprivation. The present's oxygen levels aren't enough to sustain them. If they are left out of the bug house for even a day, they could die."

Her friends were shocked and saddened by that revelation. To be saved from extinction, but confined because the air of their new home wasn't safe to breathe was something that depressed the prehistoric group; it was like living in a perfect meadow that provided everything you need, but anything beyond that would be a death sentence. Hazel noticed their shift of mood and aimed to rectify it.

"I come by to tell them what's been happening outside and of my adventures. They enjoy the company, especially Scorpio. Though she would probably try to deny it." Hazel and her friends spied the giant scorpion eavesdropping from her perch. The irate female huffed and turned away. If she had a nose, it would be turned up snootily. Hazel inwardly giggled, ' _Like a true Tsundere.'_

"I plan to ask my friend Marcus to come up with something so they can travel outside safely." Even though Neera and the others were puzzled as to how anyone could change the air to be less life threatening to the Bugs, they left it unvoiced as they have witnessed many strange marvels that the humans have come up with. So who's to say they couldn't help out Ben and his followers?

After a half an hour, Hazel and her group had to leave to continue on with their tour. Ben and Twitch welcomed the new residents and bid them farewell. Scorpio grumbled her welcome as well and told Hazel to stop being so "blank-thinking" when it came to her health. The keeper smiled as she led her group to be re-acclimated to the normal oxygen levels and continue their trek.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Terror Bird Fields…

Hazel was leading her friends to a similar savannah-like habitat that housed the Residents from South America. Although she knew the next carnivorous Resident she wanted to introduce wasn't dangerous in the traditional sense, he was a bit… _Restless_ to say the least. The young woman assured herself; surely even HE can't escape his enclosure and cause havoc with the new security measures the Park put into place. As they approached the fence line of the enclosure, the girl turned to her friends to introduce the inhabitant of the enclosure with as much bravado as she could.

"In this enclosure, weighing in at three hundred pounds is Prehistoric Park's very own _Phorusrhacos,_ Espantos!" Her friend's laughed at the ridiculousness of the human's introduction. Neera recalled the familiar name from her prior conversation with Martha the _Mammoth_ as she calmed her chortles.

"Espantos is that carnivore that Martha talked about right?" The _Iguanodon's_ revelation caused Hazel to glance at her in surprise.

"You already know about him?" Hazel questioned the pink dinosaur, which she shook her head in response.

"No, I only got a name out of Martha. She said that he was harmless, but then spaced out and muttered something about 'the fires and cackling—'"

"NOPE! We are NOT discussing what happened at Espantos's anniversary!" The girl's abrupt interruption caused them to give her weird looks. Hazel too was present at the terror bird's "birthday party" and has also made a vow to _never_ speak of the events of that day again.

"So what? Is he like dangerous or crazy or something?" Suri questioned fearfully as she eyed the dusty fields with a wary look.

"No, Espantos is actually pretty nice once you get to know him. Which is weird since he is _supposed_ to be a hyper-carnivore that should attack anything onsite."

"How do you know he's not just pretending to get on your good side to attack you while your guard's down?" Flia asked, which was met immediately with a snort.

"If Espantos was as conniving as you think he is, then you're a giant turkey Flia." Just thinking that the giant bird of prey was a danger after so long was hilarious. "While he is scary looking at first, Espantos is—"

"Not here." Aya, who was on the wood fence line, looking into the enclosure, interrupted Hazel.

"Huh?" The young keeper responded intelligibly. Aya shrugged at the confused human and pointed into the habitat.

"Unless he's invisible, he's not in there." As the white lemur said that, Hazel rushed forward to the barrier and pressed herself as close as she could to view inside the enclosure. Aya was right, the enclosure was void of any creatures inside.

"Where in the world is that birdbrain!? He's ten freaking feet tall! It shouldn't be possible for him to hide in his enclosure!" As Hazel scanned the confined area, her friends joined in on the search for the elusive bird, moving themselves closer to the fence to help search. As they scanned the area inside of the enclosure, coming up behind them was a tall figure returning from another one of his "escapades".

The slender, yet powerfully built terror bird cocked his head in confusion. Why was the Hazel-nut human looking in to his home with all these new creatures? The yellow and black bird clicked his skull-shattering beak in realization. They must have been playing the "Eye Spy" game! He loved playing games with the others when he got the chance. With stealth unexpected from bird of prey his size, the Terror Bird maneuvered his way into the middle of the group to scan his own home. He didn't announce his arrival to the others, he thought it would be rude and he didn't want to disturb the others playing the game.

Hazel and her friends were so engrossed with their search that they didn't notice the massive hyper-carnivore sneak into their group. After several moments of searching and worried comments under Hazel's breath, the _Phorusrhacos_ gave up his search and whispered loudly to the prehistoric group.

" _Hey. What are we looking for_?" His sudden child-like voice breaking the silence made the group jump back and yelp in surprise. Hazel, Plio and her family, and Neera and the kids scrambled away while Flia used her wings to fly back in shock of the 300-pound carnivore silently getting within attacking distance of their group without them knowing.

Recovering from having her heart jump out of her chest, Hazel glared at the sandy colored predator.

"Espantos!"

"HAZELNUT! Yes, I totally won that round!" The Terror Bird, Espantos, squawked out joyously. He thought they were playing another game: "Yell your friend's name as loud as you can".

"That wasn't a game Espantos," Hazel deadpanned.

"Yes it was. I win. A plus." His response was quick as he happily gazed at the young woman with his dark colored eyes. Hazel sighed in exasperation. She really shouldn't have expected anything less.

"Guys, this is Espantos. He is the guy I was talking about." The girl introduced to the flabbergasted tour group.

"Hello new friends! And welcome to my home. ISN'T IT AWSOME?!" Espantos's exuberant voice nearly deafened everyone around him.

"Well, he is certainly… free-spirited?" Flia said, still unsure about the daunting predator.

"Oh boy! We're gonna have so much fun! We can play games, and have picnics, and make friendship bracele—!"Hazel swiftly grabbed the talkative bird's beak to muzzle him to spare her friends his verbal onslaught. She pulled his beak down towards her so that Espantos could look her in the eyes as she continued her introductions.

"Espantos, these are my friends," Hazel gestured to the group behind her. "That one with the kids is Neera, with her kids Talin and Alden, along with their friends Charon and Tirech." The girl gestured with a nod to the stunned mother and kids.

"The lemurs on the fence are Plio and her family: Yar, Zini, Suri, and Aya." Espantos tried to mumble his hello, but his gaze was pulled back to Hazel to gain his attention again.

"And last but not least is my best friend Flia. She is a _Pteranodon_." Hazel slowly said as she waited for several moments, her eyes locked with Espantos's childish eyes, before releasing his beak. The Terror Bird opened and closed his razor beak several times to get the blood circulating to it again from being held in the girl's firm grasp. Hazel eyed him as Espantos stared back absentmindedly, unsure if her introductions made it through to his impulsive mind.

"Espantos, do you understa—?"

"Yes. I totally… understand… Everything! That was being said!" Espantos exclaimed.

"Um… is he alright?" Flia asked with uncertainty.

"He's fine… Probably," Hazel shrugged. Curiously, Flia decided to question the earthbound avian to see if he retained any of their conversation.

"Okay Espantos, recap for us. What are our names?" The sky scout witnessed the hyper-carnivore scrunch up his face to recall the information he was told. After a few moments, Espantos told the group what he was told. Or more correctly, what he _thought_ he was told.

"Yes… Um… Yes. The big pretty pink lady is named Narnia with her munchkin friends Tailfin and Adderall, who are friends with the other munchkin friends Charlie Brown and Tire Check. The small furry rabbit things are Lemons led by Queen Please-O with her subjects: Yarg, who I'm pretty sure is a furry pirate, Cindy, Shirley, and Eyes-a." He paused and gave Hazel a side-glance. "Are they for eating?"

"No," the girl deadpanned, prompting the _Phorusrhacos_ continue as if he didn't interrupt himself.

"OKAY! And lastly but least-ly is Fleas-Yeah! She a Ptero— Pterana— Bird-thingy!"

Hazel and her friends could only gape at the nonsense the Terror Bird spewed from his beak. The kids, Suri, and Zini snickered at the incorrect knowledge Espantos told them. Plio was holding back her father from harming the simple-minded bird that called him a "furry lemon rabbit pirate", while holding back her own amusement. Neera was torn between being insulted of the mispronunciation of her name and children, and flattered at the compliment that reminded her of bashful younglings that had a crush on her. Flia only gaped in confusion at the severity of the bird's mistaken identity of her friends. Hazel just face-palmed but considered Espantos's way of speaking. He _almost_ correctly recalled their names correctly. It took the Terror Bird weeks before he stopped calling Hazel random variations of nuts. The young woman gave Espantos an uneasy smile.

"That is… almost right Espantos. Great job." At her gingerly said compliment, Espantos lit up like a Christmas tree in happiness.

"YES! I WIN! I AM THE GREATEST EVER! And it's all thanks to my best friend Hazelnut." The bird turned to the still gaping pterosaur with an awkward stare, "Sorry, but the position of 'Best friend of the Hazelnut' is kinda… taken. But maybe you two can be like, maybe acquaintances?" Just as Flia was about to retort in defense of her friendship of Hazel, said human girl was shaking her head rapidly and making a cutting motion to her neck while she mouthed to the sky scout to "play along". Flia just gave the _Phorusrhacos_ a sheepish smile at the expectant bird.

"Sure Espantos. That's fine with me…"

"Oh thank God. I thought this conversation was going to get _pretty awkward_ , but I'm glad we could avoid it. HELLO NEW FRIENDS!" Espantos exclaimed at the top of his voice.

"Mommy? Why does that bird keep shouting?" Alden whimpered, as he was confused at the strange Miocene predator. Neera could only shrug since she too couldn't make heads or tails of the spontaneous Terror Bird. Hazel giggled at her friends' confusion before she refocused on the _Phorusrhacos._

"Espantos, how the heck did you even get out of your enclosure? You still have your Perimeter Collar on!" She double-checked his leg to be sure the device was still on, which it was. Espantos gave her a puzzled look before he answered.

"Well… I did what you did. I used my feet to walk here, then I was walking, and walking, and RUNNING! And then walking again until we all got here to play 'eye spy' and you introduced me to Yarg and the rest of your pirate friends!" he slowly explained as if _he_ wasn't the one with a questionable I.Q. The exasperated keeper shook her head as she ignored the nonsense again to ask how he was immune to the Park's security measures.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant. Okay let me try again. Espantos, " Hazel started.

"Yes?"

"How did you," she pointed to the bird's chest, "escape from your enclosure," Hazel pointed at the habitat. "When you," She pointed to his chest once more. "Still had your collar on?" The bickering duo was silent for at least a minute as her friends looked back and forth between the two. After waiting longer than necessary for what should have been a simple answer, Espantos spoke up again in his slow, lecturing voice.

"I told you already. I used my feet to walk her—"

"Screw it! I tried. You all witnessed it." Hazel exclaimed, as she ushered her friends away to get away from the crazy avian predator.

"Okay! Goodbye new friends, I'll miss you! DON'T FORGET TO WRITE!"

"Espantos, they are your neighbors, and you guys don't know how too write!" Hazel called over her shoulder.

"THAT'S WHY I TOLD THEM NOT TO FORGET!"

As she led them away, Hazel only groaned in frustration at the childish bird, while her friends laughed in amusement and took some solace in the strange shenanigans of the friendly predator.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Near _T. Rex_ Hill…

The sky above the valley began to turn a darker shade of orange as sunset neared. The birds in the valley are making their last caws of the day before quieting for the night. Their songs echoed throughout the hidden sanctuary like a dying chorus. Even Espantos joined in on their musical symphony with caws and squawks while being chased.

Hazel noticed the activity around the park begin to die down. The staff that worked during the day were finishing their last jobs before clocking in for the night. Like before, they would give her and her friends a double-take when they passed by. Nigel did inform them of the new herd having permission to wander through the park and of Hazel's ability to speak to the animals, so they were told ahead of time. What they did not expect was their youngest recruit guiding them around. The various workers would hear her talking to them about some aspect of the park and receive responses in the form of various animal noises. However, they still found the news hard to believe.

The twenty year old ignored the comments and remarks that came her way. She wasn't interested in dealing with any objections about her being crazy on speaking with the residents. Hazel went through enough crap for the past several days and she was in no mood to deal with more problems. Right now, easing the herd's fear, especially her friends', were her priority.

Despite the numerous times the prehistoric creatures she had with her freaked out on the predators in the park, the tour was going pretty smoothly. By showing them the friendlier predators like Irwin, and Espantos, she was able to break the wall between predator and prey. Hazel knew it would take more than a simple tour and introductions to convince them of their safety, but at least this was a start.

The meeting with _Saber tooth Cats_ , Sabrina and her mate César, was a little rocky, as the felines reminded them of the herd's former leader because they shared the same mentality. Although it has been a few years, Sabrina the female Cat was always a bit grumpy. It made Hazel grin to herself when the older female discovered what the Internet meme "Grumpy Cat" was. Her mate César was a "Yes-man", going along with whatever Sabrina told him. She even reined him in if he was being too difficult or annoying. Sabrina obviously wore the pants in their relationship. Even though the prehistoric pair were lounging on their climbing-logs, Hazel ushered her tour group away before Sabrina went into another of her moods.

Neera felt intimidated and at the same time nostalgic around the cats. Their cubs, Sable and Tai, were a different story because they were more like the elephant calf Mikiya than their primeval snobbish parents.

The _Triceratops_ Theo and Ellie were not much in the mood for conversing with the newcomers for a couple of reasons. The first was that Ellie had finished teaching her "roommate" another lesson about giving her more space and preferred to be alone for a bit. She did give them a short greeting before going off to eat her dinner. Theo was more open, but the group could sense the depression that was coming on to him from his failed attempts at wooing the female ceratopsian. Zini opted to give the male some dating advice when his sister and matriarch Plio stopped him. She did not want him to make the situation worse by giving him some bad advice. Plus, he was not in the mood to try again at the moment. So the group left the ceratopsians and gave them some space so they could settle in for the coming night.

As they made their way through the forest, they managed to pass by the _Microraptor_ aviary. The tour group got along pretty well with the tiny predators and the introductions went off without a problem. The little predators were mostly insect eaters, as Hazel told them, and posed no threat. The lemurs were cautious at first, but they eventually let their guard down and interacted with them.

Hazel then led her friends passed the sauropod grounds, but did not bother to bring them in deeper to meet the residents. The _Plateosaurus_ were still having their "mating season" and she would not want any of them to witness that, especially the children. As expected, they asked her on what she meant by sauropod, which Hazel responded with the word "long-neck", a term that she learned from her one of her childhood favorite movies. In short, she told them they were creatures like Baylene. Flia became ecstatic at the mention of other giants like Baylene and wished for her buddy to tell the old woman that. The young recruit told her no because she wanted it to be a surprise and the gentle giant tends to wander around a lot, so she would find out herself. That downed everyone's spirits, but they understood the girl's intention.

The next few residents Hazel wanted them to meet were another group of predators. The odd group of prehistoric creatures followed close behind her as she led them up a certain hill near the edge of the park. The hill contained lots of trees and bushes, something unexpected in the hills that were in the park. Any staff member who worked in the park knew that and treated it as a normal thing.

As the group dragged on, they started to hear a series of roars and snarls coming from nearby. The group tensed up, sensing that it was a group of predators. It was natural for them to go on defensive, but Hazel was the only one that remained calm. Tepidly, the newcomers followed the human until they came across another enclosure.

This one was large in size and contained sparse amounts of forest and shrubs within the wooden walls. Grass covered the area like a green carpet. Two lakes were situated in the middle of the enclosure and sparkled under the near-setting sun. The ancient tourists took on the sight of the beautiful area, until they were once again frightened by distant roars and bellows from the western part of the enclosure.

Hazel rolled her eyes and directed them to another part of the area. They followed in trepidation and then came across the source of all the roars. Standing just on opposite sides of the fence were two carnivores. They were large and stood just a few feet taller than Neera. Their jaws were lined with razor sharp teeth like giant kitchen knives. Their heads were broad, but not as stout as a _Carnotaurus_. Finally, their hides were a mix of faded green with grey.

These predators were fearsome. But they were not paying any mind to the visitors. In fact, they were paying more attention to each other. Except for Hazel, they all stood in wonder at the structure that separated the two creatures. Like the walls that surrounded the habitat, this one was struck down the middle.

"Well," Hazel started after remaining quiet for a few minutes. "I guess it's expected they would be like this."

"Um…Hazel?" Suri whimpered as she watched the two predators fight it out through the bars. "What are they?"

" _Tyrannosaurus rexes_ ," she simply answered then made her way to a nearby ladder to get to the overlook on the enclosure.

" _Oh boy…here we go again,"_ she mentally groaned.

Once she reached the top of the lookout, albeit slow due to her temporary handicap, she screamed at the twins with her loudest voice. "Oi! Knock it off!"

Right as she said that, the rexes stopped their bickering and turned to the human on the balcony. Their eyes grew wide at the sight of the woman that set them onto the "road of forgiveness"/ punishment.

"Uh…Hi Hazel…" Terrence greeted submissively and backed away in shame. The human bore the expression of no amusement due to witnessing the twins fighting in her presence.

"When did you get here?" Matilda questioned and was in the same boat as her twin brother across her.

"Just now. You two just made some pretty nasty first impressions to my friends," Hazel sourly remarked.

"Friends?" the budding queen rex piped. She noticed some movement from her peripheral vision and saw through the wooden bars a group of herbivores and a pterosaur. Terrence looked over in that direction and raised an eye ridge. Said friends either waved nervously at the twins. In Neera's and the children's case, they took a step back away from the enclosure.

"The _Iguanodons_ are Neera and her two sons, Alden and Talin, Charon and Tirech are the other kids, Flia is the _Pteranodon_ , and the lemurs are Plio and her family," she introduced the twins to her tour group.

Both rexes let out a weak "hello" then gazed their attention back at the "sister-figure" on the balcony when she called to them.

"Terrence and Matilda, what did I say to you before I left you alone over a week ago?" the human scolded.

"No fighting," the immature king rex hung his head in shame. "We're family, two peas in a pod, yadda yadda yadda…"

Hazel nodded mockingly and then brought her head closer to them as if she were staring directly into their soul. "Uh huh…and what were you two doing just now?"

The two rexes looked at each other and sighed. Guilt was clear on their faces when they reminisced on their past actions.

"Hazel," Terrence complained first while still eyeing his sister. "She wouldn't stop getting on my rear about me stealing all of her food. I tried to be nice and offer her some food, but she kept being all stuck-up about me getting special treatment because I'm the younger one."

"Oh shut it will you!?" Matilda argued. "I can see through that charade! You would just timidly hand me some food then yank it away from me at the last minute, all for me to get shocked!"

The younger dinosaur cleared his throat then roared back at her. "Well as entertaining as that would be, I wasn't!"

"Nuh uh!" the female shook her head.

"Yuh huh!" Terrence retorted.

"Nuh uh!"

"Yuh huh!"

The argument kept going back and forth between the siblings. The human and spectating prehistoric creatures watched as the twins duked it out over some meaningless topics like getting more food or accusing the other of being the annoying one. Seconds turned into minutes and the newcomers began to feel sorry for the predators.

Fed up with the argument, Hazel stopped them once again. "SHUT IT! Don't you see what you two are doing!? You two are NOT newborns, stop acting like it and act your age. What would your _mother_ think of your behavior!?"

Once again, the rexes stopped at looked up at the human.

Hazel, now running near on empty for mercy on the twins, decided to go on a different route to stop the fighting. Before she started the tour, she thought about how to stop the twins' arguments with the help from her friends. Thankfully, she had the perfect candidate, or candidates to help her. The Asian looked over to her right on the small group and gestured one of them to come up with a shake from her head.

"Plio, can you get over here for a sec? I need to ask you something."

In response, the lemur matriarch hopped down from the back of the lavender ornithopod and made her way to the walls of the enclosure. She scaled up the bars with ease using her primate reflexes and made it up to the top effortlessly. Soon, she was sitting on the guardrails on Hazel's right, looking over the near-mature rexes.

"What does it mean to be in a family?"

The white and brown-furred primate eyed her curiously at that remark, but then bore an expression of realization after thinking on it further. She then turned to the rexes and spoke up in a loud, clear voice.

"Being in a family means that you are with those you care about. Members of a family protect each other, care for each other, and love each other. We help those in the darkest of times and help bring the lightest of days. We stick together, because when everyone around us leaves, our family will always be there to the end."

Hearing those words stung the hearts of the dino-kings. All along, they had been fighting over the littlest things and were always at each other's throats. They never thought that the ones to tell them off about their antics would come from two small mammals. For the first time in a long time, the siblings felt a pang of shame from discriminating each other.

Terrence and Matilda looked away, not wanting to make any eye contact with each other or the mammals standing vigil above them.

Hazel saw the reactions of the twins and made a small smile. Once again, they were shown the error of their ways. In her mind, she hoped Plio's explanation on family would make them see the light.

"Thank you Plio for that enlightening lesson," she said and then returned attention to the twins with a cold gaze. "Well I hope you two learned something from this!"

With that final angry retort, she made her way to the ladder and descended down to the ground. Plio followed by going down the bars like before. In no time, they were reunited with their friends and walked away from the scene.

Leaving T. rex hill behind, the group commented on Hazel's actions with the twin predators and Plio's explanation on family. Yar was pretty quiet on the whole thing, but deep down, he felt moved by his daughter's and the human's speeches. The children were impressed as well and kept going on about how brave they were standing up to those two predators.

"So what was up with those two?" Charon wondered as they made their way towards the northern edge of the park.

"Yeah Hazel," Flia seconded from Neera's back. "Why were those two fighting?"

Hazel shrugged her shoulders and did not turn around to look at them. "Just your usual sibling rivalry. Nothing more. I was hoping those two would get along by the time I got back to them, but I guess it took more than just a little scolding to get them straight."

"They're…just like children," Plio remarked, holding her daughter as the lemurs rode on the alpha female's back.

"They are," the human agreed. Well, Plio wasn't exactly correct. They were more like teenagers, but they acted like children. "We found them as babies a few years ago. They lost their mother at the hands…er…jaws of another rex. They're orphans."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this," Neera shuddered, but was unnoticeable to her passengers. "But I feel bad for them."

"Yeah," Flia nodded, agreeing with the Iguanodon.

"Me too," Suri went next.

"Poor things…losing their mother like that," Yar uttered, surprising everyone around him and causing them to gasp.

Hazel glanced back at the elder lemur in shock. Her eyes were wide like marbles. "Wait…what did you just say?"

"Yar, did you just feel sorry for a couple of predators?" Neera eyed her grandfather-in-law with a hint of slyness.

"Um…no!" he shook his head in disagreement. "I would never do such a thing!"

"Uh huh…sure you wouldn't," Hazel said with a chuckle.

"Grandpa Yar cares about predators!?" Talin laughed and started to jump around in excitement. "Guys I think he's starting to go soft on them!"

Everyone laughed at the blue-green _Iguanodon's_ comment. Yar wasn't much on caring for predators nor was he that great on facing embarrassment. No one could see it, but his face turned a shade lighter at the infuriating remark.

After a few minutes of enjoyment, the group quieted down, exhausted from all that laughing.

"Ah…what a day," Flia sighed and stared at the setting sun passed the mountains. "You know Hazel, you're right. Some of these predators aren't so bad."

The girl nodded and looked back at her best friend. "Told you."

"Thanks for showing us around," Neera smiled at her gingerly.

"Well, one thing's for sure," Zini said and fell onto his back to relax, slightly surprising his new girlfriend behind him. "At least there aren't any Carnotaurs around here."

It was at that moment a pang of fear struck Hazel. She then looked down on the ground with worry. Zini's remark about no Carnotaurs reminded her of something she wished she did not remember. Her thoughts wandered back to a certain carnivore she had rescued nearly a year ago from falling into a canyon. That carnivore was the same one she and the herd faced on their travels to the Nesting Grounds and was the same one that murdered the former leader.

Hazel gulped and shuddered at the thought.

"Hazel? You okay?" Talin inquired, noticing the change in her facial expression.

"Um guys…there's one last resident here that you need to know about."

Deep down, Hazel knew that she basically dug her own grave. If Nero's accusations made her a pariah to the herd, then she dreaded on the consequences of showing her friends the very monster that plagued them from before. However, she made a promise to her friends to not withhold any more secrets from them. She didn't realize that her promise would bite her in the ass so soon.

" _Damn it, I can't believe I forgot about him!"_ she screamed in her mind.

"What? There's one more here?" Tirech wondered and walked a little closer to her on her left.

"Yeah…um…if you guys are going to be staying here, then there's one last thing you need to be made aware of. Remember when I said that there are some predators you need to stay away from? Well there's one here that you REALLY need to avoid."

The children, pterosaur, lemurs, and alpha female all looked at each other in confusion and then back at the human.

"Who?" Neera blurted out, speaking for everyone.

 _Phew…that was a lot! Well the tour's off to a great start…but what about the end of it? How are they going to react when they meet the one carnivore that caused them problems in the past?_

 _So for the characters, we used some unique personalities. Espantos, like what everyone kept saying, isn't really dangerous. He's just highly social and has a pretty random attitude. So he's based off of a certain character we know of from a popular show…if you know what we mean ;). We don't own that show or those characters!_

 _Since the bugs are from the Carboniferous period, which is a time LONG before the Mesozoic era, we decided that their language would be primitive. Hence the unique dialogue._

 _Rascal reminded the both of us of a New York gangster, hence why he's got that attitude. It was pretty fun writing him and the rest of the residents in._

 _Oh yeah, we'll be adding the Triceratops and the Borealosaurus soon. They will be in a later chapter._


	16. New Friends and an Old Foe

_Author's Note:_

 _Marc: Doo dee doo! Ah, what a lovely day!_

 _DarkSage: What's got you so chipper?_

 _Marc: I don't know Sage-y, I'm just in a good mood today! Those are very rare for me to come by._

 _*Makes his way to the comment box*_

 _Marc: I think I'll celebrate this day by reading the comments of our story, **Dinosaur: Extinction Lasts Forever** , on the porch with a glass of lemonade. *Opens comment box* Those things always— AHH!_

 _*Marc is buried under a mountain of comments*_

 _DarkSage: Holy crap! You okay Marc?_

 _Marc: Just dandy! I LOVE being covered up to my neck in fan mail! Spoiler alert, I was being sarcastic._

 _*Marc plucks a few comments up and reads them*_

 _Marc: WHAT IS THIS NOISE! Cloning Baylene? **King Kong** shenanigans? Inaccurate measurements of the Titanosaurs? WHAT IS THIS!?_

 _DarkSage: First time getting nitpicky comments?_

 _Marc: First time getting **any** comments. Before I met you, I was basically Kingdom Hearts Nobody. Except without that kick ass robe or zipper-fetish._

 _DarkSage: Removing that disturbing imagery out of my head… But yes. Recently Marc and I have run into a number of odd requests and less then desirable nitpicks from the comments._

 _Marc: I know you guys want us to continue this awesome story on a regular basis, believe me so do I, but you guys do realize we have actual lives outside of this site, right? (DarkSage: MARC!) I'm just saying Sage._

 _DarkSage: While not how I would have put it, he is right. We DO have very busy lives. With school, jobs, and the like taking up most of our time. I'm sure you guys can understand._

 _Marc: As for the guy who wants to clone Baylene, **Jurassic Park** Fanfics are in the Movie section tab under "J". We understand you don't want her to be lonely, but that is kinda the reason why we are having her meet up with the Borealosaurs. Plus, **Prehistoric Park** is a show based on Time/Space travel. We are BS-ing a lot of science; don't need cloning to complicate the narrative further. _

_DarkSage: Speaking of the Borealosaurus, we were informed that they were inaccurately measured in this story. In actuality, they are around 12-meters long. We decided to scrap that bit of factual evidence to fit our story. In **Prehistoric Park** , they were way longer than a measly 12-meters. We just made it so they can keep their titanic stature when compared to Baylene's impressive 26-meter long body. Don't be mad, this is just so we can continue to tell our entertaining story._

 _Marc: Want to be mad, yell at Disney. They started first when they decided to make Carnotaurus the size of a T-Rex. As for the King Kong angle, sorry no dice. Although that is an interesting concept, me and Sage got something in the works that will be just as good as that idea. However, my dear Readers, you bring up some interesting ideas. Hmm… Sage-y! Wrangle up some panda bears and load them into my launcher! We're gonna Pander the heck out of our readers in the near future!_

 _DarkSage: Sigh, Right. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!_ **_Disclaimer: We do not own Disney's Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park._**

New Friends and Old Foe

Triceratops Creek….

As Hazel's tour group made their way to their last ill-tempered Resident, the Elders Baylene and Eema decided to do some solo exploring of Prehistoric Park. They would have brought Url, but the new youngling Mikiya roped him and Neera's daughters into their own adventure. The tiny elephant managed to find 5 little Stetsons, which adorned each of their tiny heads, and some rope and said they were going to wrangle the _Elasmotherium_ and get him to play the human game "Cowboys and Bandits" with them. While the elderly duo were not sure of what an " _Elasmotherium_ " was, or "Cowboys and Bandits" for that matter, it prompted the calf's mother and Martha the mammoth to rush off in panic as soon as the two elderly ladies mentioned it to them.

Eema was now on her own, having split up from her friend so they could cover more ground. The aged _Styracosaurus_ was enjoying adventuring at her own pace. At her age, it was nothing short of a miracle that she has managed to keep up with her younger friends since she padded along slowly. Eema now had enough time for herself to enjoy the scenery of her new home.

Despite being told that the entire herd traveled to the future, the stout elder didn't feel too shell-shocked. It still felt like their old home, for some strange reason. Eema just shook her head. Thinking about all that future speak that Hazel told the group was confusing enough as it is. As she traversed along, she saw a group of human males looking into an enclosure. They were passing around small colorful rectangles amongst each other as they watched intently inside.

"Now, what on Earth are those humans doing?" Little did Eema know, these park keepers were betting money on how long a certain 3-horned bachelor would stay on his feet until he was thrown on his backside by his love-interest. As Eema came closer, she could smell the definite musk of a Ceratopsian male. She immediately knew that whoever was in the enclosure was trying to court a lady. Eema would have left the scene if it weren't for what she heard the male suitor _saying._

"Hey baby! What time do you have to go back to heaven? 'Cause you look like an angel!" Eema nearly gagged at the cheesy pickup line. It may have been a long time since she had been courted, but even she knew that the male's attempts at smooth talking were pathetic. As she moved closer to the fence to see the inhabitants, and a fair distance away from the humans, she saw and identified the creatures inside. She had crossed paths with many species of dinosaurs over her long life, so she identified the two _Triceratopses_ quickly. From what she could tell, they were both budding adults and were physically ready to mate. However, seeing the young female evade the male's advances made it evident that they weren't going to be bonded anytime soon.

"If you don't back off Theo, YOU will be the one to know what heaven is like!" The young female yelled at the male, which she assumed was Theo, as she continued running away to distance herself from the eager male. Eema had to admit, the young 3-horned female was about as sassy as she was, as she cracked a humored smirk. Theo, however, didn't give up.

"Ouch! My tooth hurts! Why? 'Cause you're so sweet Ellie!" He called out as he flashed a smile to her.

"I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING MORE THAN A TOOTHACHE TO BE HURT OVER!" Ellie once again faced Theo and slammed her skull against his. The power behind the smaller triceratops made a loud crashing sound like two speeding cars in a headlong collision. Ellie's deceptive strength flipped the enamored male, making him slam onto the ground once again.

"Ow… I am gonna feel that in the morning… and several mornings after that." As Theo was groaning, Ellie glared at him and leaned down to his prone form to try and get her message across to him _again_.

"You better give me my damn space Theo. Or else next time, I'm going _not_ to drive my horns against yours and I'll choose an area that is a little more… _tender_. Do I make myself clear?" She threatened in a low whisper. Theo's eyes widened in fear at Ellie's threat, knowing that this was the right time to back off for the time being.

"C-Crystal Ellie!" The downed male yelped. With a grunt, Ellie stalked off and intentionally or unintentionally tail-slapped Theo's face as she turned away to get a drink of water.

While threatening to maim the overturned male was a tad excessive in Eema's opinion, from what she could glean from the two _Triceratops'_ interactions, Theo was a little overbearing with his affections. Eema heard a multitude of cheers and groans coming from her right. She saw the humans cheering and groaning as they passed the thin rectangle leafs back and forth to certain people.

"Dang it! I was so sure he was going to last at least five-minutes!" One man complained.

"That's how the cookie crumbles boys and girls." One man sitting on Theo's training tractor said, pocketing a rather large wad of money.

"Come on. We have to haul lover boy back to his feet." He ordered, as the small group scrambled to the enclosures gates to enter and assist Theo.

Just as one of the park keepers unlocked the padlock on latched gate, all of the radios clipped on each of the keepers crackled to life.

" _All Prehistoric Park Keepers. We need every able body to report to Diablo's paddock. Everyone, we need assistance in pacifying him, immediately!_ " The small group of humans jolted into action, dropping everything they were doing and loading onto their vehicles. The man who unlocked the _Triceratops_ gate made a move towards to gate again to lock the door again.

"Leave it! We need to get to that 'Devil' before he gets too ornery," an older employee shouted as he loaded as many keepers as he could onto his jeep.

"But its proper protocol to always lock a Resident's enclosure when no keeper is on site." The man protested.

"By the sound of things, that horn-head is gonna cause nothing but trouble. And I certainly don't want him running around the Park free. I'd rather deal with the Twins with nothing but a stick! Besides, the door is latched and opens inwards. Ellie keeps to herself and Theo is certainly not going anywhere." The man in the jeep said, pointing to the upside-down dinosaur.

This seemed to sate the rest of the park keepers as they piled on and sped off. Where they drove off to, Eema had no idea, but she pushed the thought away from her mind. She had no clue how to help the human's situation, but Eema was sure that she could solve young Theo's problem. As the elderly _Styracosaurus_ lumbered to the enclosure's gate, Theo also noticed the humans vacating the area in a hurry, eyeing the retreating vehicles.

"Hey wait! I'm still on my back! Come on guys, don't leave me like this!" Theo cried out as his legs flailed around in the air in protest. As the last of the vehicles drove off, the ceratopsian male just sighed in defeat. While the male was struggling to get to his feet, Eema looked over the gate of the enclosure. The padlock was left carelessly on the floor, leaving the only form of keeping the fence shut the long wooden board that latched the gate closed. Eema moved her weathered horn stub underneath the board to get it to unlock. It took several tries, the board kept slipping off the elder's worn-down horn, but Eema managed to lift the latch and opened to door to the inside of the habitat. As she approached the overturned male, she heard him cursing and muttering under his breath as he tried to get back on his feet on his own, oblivious to her approach.

"Great job Theo. What a wonderful note for you to end the day on." He grunted, trying to swing his legs to the side to right himself, but to no avail. "Well I guess it isn't too bad. Could be worse."

At this point, Eema couldn't help but release a slight chuckle. "If that is what you consider normal, then I don't want to see what you think is worse." Theo jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance of Eema.

"Oh! Um… Hi there! You must be one of the new Residents from the Rift." The upside-down ceratopsian greeted, not at all concerned at his current predicament. Eema eyed the _Triceratops_ curiously.

"How do you know that?"

"Let's just say, a 'crazy bird' told me," Theo chuckled at Prehistoric Park's spastic Terror Bird. He glanced back at the questioning elder. "Anyways, the name's Theo."

"You sure it's not 'Casanova'?" Eema snarked, remembering what Hazel called Zini during his more flirtatious phase. Theo deflated, for he too knew what the name meant.

"Oh, you saw that, huh?" He sheepishly muttered, "How much did you see?"

"I gotta admit, the 'angel' bit was a little much. I'm partial to the 'toothache/sweet' line myself, but that little girl tossing you around made me crack a smile." Theo could only groan as he tried to avert his eyes in embarrassment. His shield-crested head flushed with more red, which he told himself that it was just the blood rushing to his head, and _nothing_ more.

"This is so embarrassing! First I get my rear served to me on a silver platter daily by Ellie, and now I got a granny on my case about my love life."

"First of all, my name is Eema. Second, I don't think hitting on a girl that ain't interested is what's considered a 'love life'," the _Styracosaurus_ chuckled. "Unless this is a difference of species sort of thing for _Triceratops_ , then sure kid. You're a regular smooth operator."

Theo just groaned again. Eema stepped closer to the _Triceratops_ with a questioning look on her face. "So, is there any reason you're making yourself look like a fool?"

Figuring he had nothing else to lose, his pride already bruised along with what he was sure was a fair amount of his ribs, Theo sighed as he looked up at the elder from the ground and spoke up, "It's Ellie… she was rescued a few months ago and I've been trying to court her to be my mate. Now, it's the end of mating season and I blew my chance with the prettiest Trike I've ever seen! Granted, Ellie is the _only_ other Trike I've seen since my own rescue years ago, but that's beside the point.

"I just wanted to get her to like me. And my Dad always told me to be confident when talking to girls when I was a hatchling." Theo said, reflecting briefly on his childhood before he was rescued. "And the Keepers around my enclosure have all sorts of cool sayings and pickup lines! I thought at least one of them would get Ellie to at least _like_ me." Theo frowned as tears collected at the corner of his eyes. All of his attempts thus far to court the female _Triceratops_ has ended with a splitting headache, gasping for breath from being slammed into the ground, and a broken heart that shattered into even smaller pieces with every rejection.

Eema sighed at the young ceratopsian. "Kid, there's 'being confident' and then there's 'being an abrasive dunderhead'." Eema said, scolding Theo's unrefined romantic side as said male was listening intently.

"All those human pickup lines are gonna make you wind up dead if you keep pestering that poor girl. Believe it or not kid, girls want a little something more than a supposed smooth talker. I mean, courting is supposed to mean you offering to share your life with your mate and care for them until your last days. Ellie won't be impressed by a just having a male for quick rut." Theo blushed at the rather adult imagery that Eema told him as she continued. "Ellie, and all females, want a relationship."

"But how can I get her to like me if she won't speak to me unless threatening to gouge my eyes out?" He asked, remembering yet another threat the petite _Triceratops_ promised if he continued his behavior. Eema rolled her eyes, amused by the enamored boy.

"Well first off, ditch whatever you think is the norm Charming; that includes those horrible pickup lines. Second, dial back the eagerness kid. Courting requires patience and a certain subtle charm. You can't always charge headlong into those situations. You have to be invitin' to the ladies, and NOT chase them around. That'll definitely scare them off." Eema chuckled as she moved to the left side of the young _Triceratops_ and positioned her horn underneath his back to gain as much leverage as she could. "Lastly, try being her friend before you 'break out your moves'."

With a grunt, Eema proceeded to lift Theo with as much strength as her aged body allowed her to get him off the floor. With Eema's additional help, Theo gained enough leverage to swing his legs to properly put himself right side up. The young male sighed in relief at being on his own four feet again as he shot his savior an appreciative grin. Eema was panting, her old age making it slightly difficult performing laborious tasks.

"Thanks Granny!" Theo playfully joked. Eema just rolled her eyes at the youth's nickname for her as she caught her breath to speak up again to continue her lecture.

"Look Theo, you may have blown your chances with this girl for this year's mating season." Theo was downcast at the negatives of the _Styarcosaur's_ words. "But until next year," Eema once again caught his attention, "try being Ellie's friend first. From what you told me, she was a recent newcomer before me and the herd came here and she hasn't adjusted yet. The girl is probably confused out of her mind at her new home. I should know, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the weirdness of being in the future!"

Theo just absorbed what Eema told him. _'She's right_ ,' he stated to himself in revelation, _'I've been so focused on courting Ellie to realize that she was struggling to adapt being in the future. And I was too smittened to notice her discomfort.'_ The young male looked at the wise older lady with a grateful smile.

"Thanks Granny. I guess I needed someone to set my head on straight."

Eema gave a kindhearted laugh. "I'd believe it. That girl has probably done a number to that thick skull of yours!" They both laughed Eema's jab at Theo's previous romantic blunders.

"What the heck are you laughing about Theo?" Theo and Eema heard the familiar voice of Ellie, who was coming to investigate her male companion's sudden shift from depression to laughter. Coming from the creek, Ellie found Theo, now back on his own 4 feet, and an elderly _Styracosaurus_ that somehow managed to get into their home. "Oh, hello ma'am. I'm Ellie."

"Eema, honey," the elder replied. Ellie gave Eema a welcoming smile.

"Nice to meet you ma'am!" Ellie's expression turned slightly sour as her gaze shifted to Theo, who had seem to lose much of his previous bravado. "I see you have already met the nuisance of my life, Theo."

Theo, now that he realized his previous mistakes, shrank at Ellie's blatantly obvious tone of distain. Eema just chuckled in good health.

"Actually, this kind boy was helpful enough to let me into your home." Both _Triceratopses_ were perplexed, Theo even more so since it was Eema who came in unannounced. "I just came from the new herd down in the valley. I was exploring a bit but I got all turned around and now I'm lost and so very hungry. Theo here offered to show me some DE-lectable greens around your home. Isn't that right Theo?" With her head facing away from Ellie, the young girl missed the conspiringly impish wink that Eema gave Theo, who caught on and gave her a grateful smile.

"Uh, YES! That's what I did. Totally." Theo stated, flustered at his sudden role in Eema's performance of " _Young Triceratops helping the helpless Old Lady_ ". "Um… would you like to join us Ellie? I-I mean, you probably know some good plants to eat around the enclosure."

Although her features were unreadable, Ellie was confused at the male ceratopsian's sudden change of character. Ever since she came to the present, Ellie was bombarded with those cheesy pickup lines and his attempts to woo her nearly every day. Now it was like Theo was an entirely new dinosaur. ' _Plus, that stutter of his is kind of cute— What the HECK was that_?' She thought as she shook her head slightly at Theo's minute actions. After mulling over for a few moments, she made up her mind to join the two to grab a bite to eat. She might as well join them, it was late and she wanted to make sure that the male didn't make a bigger fool of himself. He was kind of dorky in an adorable sort of way… er… she meant a _friendly_ sort of way. Yes, that was what she meant.

"Okay, I'll tag along. There are some really tasty berry bushes growing near the creek."

"Y-Yeah, that sounds good Ellie! I think I know where those are too," Theo slightly stuttered as he gave their new guest a side-glance. "Come on Granny Eema, we'll show you the way."

"Thanks you two! That is very sweet of you to offer." Eema said, as she trudged after the leading male; Ellie following instep with Eema's slow gait. Although it didn't show entirely, Eema could have sworn she saw a tiny spark of desire within the young girl's eyes as she followed behind Theo. Eema chuckled on the inside. If she was in a new world, she might as well enjoy her time and play "matchmaker" for the two young ones. She made a spark between the two, now it was time for Eema to fan it to become a flame.

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A few minutes earlier… Titanosaur Treetops…

The elderly sauropod was amazed at the sight of the herd's new home. Now that Hazel apologized to the group, Baylene has been able to properly appreciate the valley or "Prehistoric Park" as the young human girl called it. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of familiarity when she took in the sights of her surroundings, she just couldn't place it.

Although their small group forgave Hazel, the rest of the herd was much less amicable.

"My goodness, they are positively beastly," the sauropod said to herself as she continued her trek through the Park. She could understand the feeling of distrust, but hating the poor girl for her omission perplexed Baylene. In her long life of experience, she knew that those in leadership had to make difficult choices and were burdened with those daunting tasks. Young Hazel was burdened with the responsibility of the wellbeing of the herd, all 200 members of them. Baylene admired the young human's drive and not succumbing to the weight of her responsibility.

The elder passed by many enclosures. Some creatures were vaguely familiar to her, like those _Ornithumimus_ fellows, and others she could not make heads or tails of, namely the odd and surprisingly joyful Terror Bird Espantos. She sighed in a bit of sadness. Although Baylene didn't show it often, she felt loneliness in being the only _Brachiosaurus_ in the herd.

The elder shook her head of these depressing thoughts. ' _No need getting depressed over such things Baylene._ ' The sauropod self scolded as she ventured to find some treetops to graze on. ' _You must keep your head up, and carry on._ '

After searching through the area, Baylene found a tree that resembled her favorite food from the herd's former home on the other side of a tall wooden fence. She stretched her neck over the wood barricade to get to the tasty green leaves, when something surprising happened. Her muzzle suddenly made contact with something through the foliage, surprising both the elderly sauropod and the hidden creature on the other side of the green leaves.

"Ow! Hey, watch where you're reaching!" Called a distinctively feminine voice from the shrubbery.

"Oh dear, my apologies! I didn't realize this tree was taken." Baylene said to the still hidden face.

"What do you mean? You should already know if you have been in my Flock."

"I'm sorry my dear, but I believe you are mistaken. I have arrived here mere days ago." Baylene was curious as to who could be talking to her at this height. Maybe a small bird perched upon the tree she was at; the hidden figure did say she led a "Flock". Her massive stature made her crane her neck down to many of her friends, so it surprised her when the hidden figure's head breached the treetop and forced her to crane her neck _up_ for the first time in her long life.

Looking down at her with a look of surprise was a creature that almost resembled Baylene. The only minute differences were smaller cranial ridge nostrils, a lankier build, and a slightly longer muzzle; the figure also had a bright red streak that ran along her nostril ridge, indicating her as a leader. Both females were taken aback by the surprise of seeing another sauropod so close to them. The resident Titanosaur was the first to break out of her wonderment to promptly greet the astonished _Brachiosaurus_.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I thought you were one of the members of my Flock. Excuse my disrespectful tone ma'am," the Titanosaur said in her slightly Asian accent as she smiled at Baylene. "Greetings ma'am, I am Yin. Who might you be?" The elder was shook out of her surprise by the young leader's voice.

"Baylene my dear. Forgive me for asking but, are you a Brachiosaur?" To Baylene's surprise, and slight disappointment, Yin shook her head.

"No ma'am, I'm a _Borealosaurus_. And Leading Lady of my Flock, not to toot my own horn." Yin said with a hint of pride in her position. "I'm guessing that 'Brachiosaur' is what you are ma'am?"

"Yes my dear. And please Yin, call me Baylene."

"Yes ma'a— I mean, yes Ms. Baylene."

Baylene was amused at the younger sauropod's overly respectful tone. It reminded her of when she traveled with her own kind, the younger Brachiosaurs used the same respectful language when speaking with elders of her herd, herself included.

"My goodness though, the resemblance is uncanny," Yin was still taking in the resemblances of herself and Baylene as she took strides closer to her enclosure's wooden fences. "Let's get a good look at you."

Yin proceeded to kick down the Titanosaur enclosure wall, once again, to reach Baylene on the outside. As soon as she crossed the "Barrier Dome", her Perimeter Collar went off and released its painful 5,500-volt payload. However, to the Titanosaurs, it more akin to a tingly feeling of having your leg fall asleep. The Leading Lady Titanosaur just shook her leg in mild discomfort as the collar's power pack fizzled out.

"Urgh! I don't like these new buzzy things," Yin said as she looked at the collar with distain, "It always tickles my leg!" She focused again on Baylene with a smile on her face. "Welcome to Prehistoric Park Ms. Baylene! I'm sure me and my followers can make you feel welcomed in our little slice of paradise."

"Followers?"

"Oh right!" Yin said in realization. "Give me a second to call them here." Yin released a deep bellow to call her Flock to meet the new sauropod resident. As soon as Yin finished her call, 8 more _Borealosaurus_ heads rose over the treetops and proceeded to their alpha's location. Unfortunately, the Titanosaurs just knocked over more fence posts and also shorted out their electric collars. They were all eager to meet the older Brachiosaur, with her being a new sauropod.

"Everyone, this is Baylene. She was one of Nigel and Hazel's most recent rescues from the Rift. Please welcome her and treat her with respect as an elder of her stature deserves." Yin's follower were happily greeting the _Brachiosaurus_ and treating her with respect. Baylene was almost crying in joy. While it wasn't her own species, it was similar enough for her to relate to the Titanosaurs. Yin focused on Baylene again with a smile, "Would you like to join us for supper? We were just about to start and you are more than welcome to be our guest."

After many of Yin's Flock pleading for her to join them, Baylene relented.

"Alright my dears. I will be more than happy to attend." Baylene stood tall and smiled at the younger Titanosaurs. They all cheered and proceeded to show the elder where the good treetops were for grazing. As they all dispersed to their favorite grazing areas, a red and orange ATV slowed to a stop. Driving to his workshop was Marcus, who had feelings of exasperation, depression, and rage at the sight of the Titanosaurs breaking through their enclosure _again_. He tore off his helmet and pulled down his goggles in frustration.

"COME ON GUYS! I JUST FIXED THAT!" He yelled at the titanic sauropods, who promptly continued eating since they were used of the small humans crying out in frustration; namely from their primary keeper, Bob. Marcus ran his hand through his hair to try and relieve his stress.

"I knew I should have used a bigger power pack but NNNOOO! ' _It's inhumane Marcus!', 'What we have for the others will be enough for these blokes, Marcus', 'Stop whining so much Marcus!'_ " He scornfully mocked those who were opposed to using a higher voltage for the _Borealosaurus's_ electric collars; those people being Suzanne, Bob, and Hazel in that order. The engineer knew that they didn't want to hurt their prehistoric charges, himself included, but the Titanosaurs were so MASSIVE that they needed higher voltage perimeter collars before they would even _consider_ thinking that leaving their enclosure is a bad idea, and even then Marcus wasn't sure that would stop them.

Just as the engineer was going to attempt to corral the titanic sauropods on his own, his radio crackled to life.

" _Um, M-Mr. Rey? S-Sir!_ " On the other end of the line was his assistant engineer Julie, who was sounding quite shaken up at the moment as he tiredly reached for his radio.

"Yeah, what's up Julie?"

" _W-we have a situation at one of the enclosures, sir."_

"I'm looking at the problem right now Jules," Marcus groaned, eyeing a group of Titanosaurs that he could have sworn had amused looks on their faces. "The Titanosaurs broke out of their enclosure again!"

" _Actually sir, we kind of stopped registering those perimeter alerts as problems,_ " Julie shakily responded.

"Why wasn't this brought up in the last staff meeting?" The head engineer complained. It was like he was always the last to know everything. Before his assistant engineer could respond, her radio caught several voices yelling and very loud primal roars following after. Julie's fear was heard in full force, as she tried to report to her superior the problem.

" _P-PLEASE SIR! Diablo is going crazy! And he nearly broke through the fence to get to the engineer performing maintenance to his enclosure!"_

Marcus got serious at the severity of being told about the vicious _Carnotaurus_. "Is everyone okay? How's Murphy?" He asked in concern for the engineer in charge of the area.

" _He broke his arm when that MONSTER made part of the enclosure fence fall on him!"_ She caught her breath as tried to retain some of her composure. " _Get here as fast as you can sir. We can't get close enough to the generators to update the security on Diablo's Barrier Dome! And I'm too scared shitless to get close myself sir_!"

"Up the voltage on the X-12 electro-shotguns! I don't care it stops that fucker's heart! I'd rather have that lizard keel over than have one of our guys eaten!" Marcus ordered, already marching to his ATV and preparing to drive off. As he mounted his bike, he searched the treetops until he saw the telltale sign of Yin's crimson streaked head, who was eating at a lush green tree with the new _Brachiosaurus_.

"Hey, you! Leader Dino!" Both sauropods looked at Marcus with what seemed like a look of surprise; the fact that the animals could understand English still freaked him out a bit. "Make sure you keep the others away from the new Resident's area of the Park." The leader – Yin – groaned a response in her own language, which Marcus couldn't understand. "I mean it! Unless you guys have the need to get eaten by that guy. Stay! Away!" As soon as Marcus finished, he zoomed off to help his fellow co-workers.

Baylene turned towards Yin, concern adorning her features, "Who was he talking about?" The Titanosaur just sighed.

"Well, there's a newcomer, one who came here months ago, who has not taken in the philosophy of Prehistoric Park just yet. From what I hear, he is quite… Um… _Confrontational_ when it comes to living here."

"Goodness, whom might that be?"

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Minutes later…

Sunset was now upon the valley of Prehistoric Park. The sun had just touched the outline of the mountains and bathed the valley with its dying rays. The sky was a dark orange tint like that of an overripe passion fruit. The clouds that were in those rays appeared darker and acted like the fruit's bruises. It was getting late, but a certain human along with her friends did not mind the time of day.

Hazel wanted to smack herself for her absent-mindedness. Today had been going so well with giving her friends a tour of her home. They were just starting to warm up to the area AND to the Residents, including a number of the carnivores. Now, apparently there was one more obstacle they needed to overcome, and Hazel was not looking forward to it.

The walk to the last Resident in the park was a quiet one. Well, the human was not being cooperative with her friends' questions. She just remained silent and never gave them an answer. Hazel did not want to tell them, but at the same time, she wanted to. They had a right to know after all. Telling them now would make things worse, so showing them would be the best option.

"Come on Hazel," Neera begged to the still silent human. "At least give us a hint."

As expected, there was only silence.

"Hazel, we've already seen the predators in the park here. Although a number of them we disliked, the others we were fine with," Flia tried to reason. "We know you humans set up those walls to keep the predators at bay, and we're happy about that. But at least tell us what's making you so nervous about this last one."

Once again, for a few moments, there was silence. Seeing that Hazel would not budge on telling them what was about to come, Flia growled and stormed up to her from behind Neera.

At least, she was about to when the group was suddenly stopped by a loud roar from up ahead. It was a few hundred feet away, but they could make out the pitch and frequency of the bellow very well. To the prehistoric creatures, except for the children, it sounded very familiar. The sound sent chills down their spines like a shard of ice going down their backs. They shivered in fear as another one went up in the air.

Hazel was well accustomed to the sound since that particular Resident was one of the new arrivals. However, this predator kept roaring continuously, which she found odd because he would not make this much sound.

"Hazel, what is that?" Suri whimpered from her sister-in-law's back.

The human in question gulped and, for the first time since their visit to T. rex Hill, she spoke. "Our newest resident."

She then bolted towards that direction down the dirt path they were treading on. Clouds of dust and dirt went up from each step she took. Wanting to know the source of the roars and what was making Hazel so secretive, the group made their way down the path, catching up to the human in little time.

They passed oncoming workers and dodged a few vehicles. Their rush had caused a bit of havoc in the form of humans colliding with each other or jeeps suddenly stopping from the oncoming Mesozoic guests. They did yell at them for the delays they caused, but the gang kept going.

By the time they reached their destination, all of them gasped in horror. A large group of humans were corralling around the enclosure with strange devices, large flattened silver rocks with a brown underside as the dinosaurs, lemurs, and pterosaur thought. Said object also had what seemed to be a "skinny, elongate muzzle" at the very front. The humans held the silver and brown weapons with two hands, one that held the device close to the head's underside and the other at the back.

To Hazel, they were obviously a type of gun, but she knew that the park had no guns in their storage department, save for the tranquilizers. Prehistoric Park's mission was to save animals, not kill them. So the thought of the keepers trying to kill residents was off the list. She and her friends noticed the workers were firing at something in front of them and were yelling commands to keep it at bay. Their curiosity piqued, they observed the situation more and got their answer.

Just before them was a large enclosure with a similar setting like the Rex twins' home. There was even a large pond near the leftmost corner with small vegetation surrounding it. It was as if it were some kind of encased forest. But through the bars of the compound, they could clearly see what creature inhabited it.

The dinosaur was around 40 feet in length, which was way too large for its own species. Its hide was a mix of crimson red and brown. Spikes adorned its back like prehistoric armor. The creature's head was broad and stout, which was perfect for grabbing and holding on to prey. Dagger-like teeth protruded from its mouth in a toothy snarl. But the one thing that brought nightmarish memories to the group were the two horns above its yellow, malicious eyes.

Said creature was roaring in fury and crashing into the walls of the enclosure with its brute strength. Each attack it did caused some of the bars to create an ear-splitting crack. Splinters of wood fell from the structures. The collar around its leg sparked with electricity each time it charged towards the edge of the compound. Volts of electricity went through its body, causing it so much pain. But even that did not stop its rampage. The humans around the compound fired those silver and brown weapons each time it attacked. Bullets were not fired, but rather small, square-like prongs that would attach onto the target and had a wire trail from the source gun. Like the collar, volts of electricity shot through the pathways and electrocuted the target. The carnivore shrieked in pain before shaking off the human weaponry.

"Ca…ca…Carnotaur!" Zini shrieked and fled the scene after jumping off Neera's back. The other lemurs did the same and escaped the area, making their way towards one of the parked jeeps closest to them. Their screams brought the children, who were too frightened by the appearance of the predator, back into reality.

"It's going to eat us!" Tirech screamed and followed after the little primates.

"RUN!" Talin screeched and went after them as well.

Charon and Alden followed suit, wishing to get as much distance away from the monster as they could. Hazel turned and saw them cower behind one of the parked Prehistoric Park jeeps, crying and whimpering in fear.

"Guys! Come back!" she called out to them.

Neera looked back to see where they went off to then returned her gaze back to the carnivore. Satisfied that her sons and their friends were okay, she focused on the situation at hand. As for Flia, she too was scared and prepared to take off should the situation call for it.

Just then, one of the keepers nearby called for the young tour guide. Hazel looked to her right to see head keeper Bob rush towards her then stop. Following close behind him was the park's head engineer.

"Hazel! Am I glad to see you," he said, gasping for breath.

"Bob, what's going on? Why is Diablo like this?" Hazel quickly asked him.

"You think you can give us a hand here? That devil-incarnate there has been like this since this morning! Had to sedate him a couple of times, but every time he wakes up, he just goes crazy again! We had to beef up security as a result!"

Her eyes lit up in shock. "You mean those guns? Where'd you get those?"

"I made them. Mostly because of this guy," Marcus answered her question with haste and pointed at the ballistic _Carnotaurus_. He also caught sight of the pink _Iguanodon_ and _Pteranodon_ nearby. As much as he wanted to ask what she had been doing with them, he was more concerned with the situation at hand. "Now can you do us a favor and do what you did with that _Iguanodon_ from before? Do something to get him to calm down!"

Hazel stammered at his hurried request. In truth, she had no idea if she would be able to calm Diablo down. She wasn't exactly friends with him and was sort of an enemy because of their past run-ins. Getting him to calm down would be like trying to get Espantos to sit still for more than 5 minutes.

"I…I don't know if I can…," she shook her head with doubt.

Another roar came from the _Carnotaurus_ had brought everyone back to the enclosure. Thanks to Hazel's Prehistoric Speak, she was able to hear Diablo's ruthless demands to her coworkers. Neera and Flia became surprised when they heard words come out of the predator's mouth. Not once have they encountered a _Carnotaurus_ that could speak.

"Let me out of here!" Diablo roared at the humans and then slammed his body against the bars. More volts went through his body and caused him more pain. "You disgusting humans, tear down the walls of this filthy prison so I can tear you apart! You can't keep me in here forever!"

Judging from what Hazel was hearing, Diablo's tolerance on the humans and of the park itself had run low. She deduced that he became fed up with life in the park and wanted to take his anger out on those who were looking after him. The girl feared the worst should he manage to escape his enclosure.

Bob and Marcus immediately rushed back to the rest of the keepers near the enclosure and gave them orders to prevent Diablo from escaping. The beast shook off a few more of those wires before turning his attention to his new audience in the distance. His eyes narrowed then widened in realization at two particular creatures that were with the humans.

Diablo let out a snarl before yelling up into the sky. "You!"

The bull carnivore ran a few feet away from the bars before ramming into the bars again. More splinters feel from the bars and some of them snapped in two. The other keepers fired the stun guns again. Diablo roared in agony at the searing pain through his body from the collar and the guns, causing him to back away from the walls.

"Leaf sucker and flyer! Get over here so I can rip you to _shreds_!" he hissed with seething hatred.

"Uh yeah as if!" Zini hollered from where he was. His voice echoed from the three companions, but was enough for the carnivore to hear. To the humans, if they were listening at all, it sounded like a monkey screeching.

Neera then snapped back into reality after observing the imprisoned Carnotaur. Today, she had seen many predators that the humans rescued and even befriended them (well most of them). But now, after seeing Diablo, levels of adrenaline and anger built up inside of her. This was the very species that plagued her herd for many years, and the humans had one here. The alpha female did not know how much more shocking news she could take.

"Hazel you have a Carnotaur here!?" she snapped her head towards the human, who had backed up a few steps to stand next to her friends after Diablo's attempted breakout. Fury burned in her eyes as if a volcano was about to erupt.

Deep down, Hazel was frightened. But she did her best to hide that from everyone. Showing her emotions now felt like a bad idea to her. The last time she admitted a harsh truth to them, she nearly died. Thinking of her promise to not keep any more secrets, Hazel sighed and nodded.

"Yeah…Didn't really know how to tell you, so I thought it'd be best to show you," she nervously chuckled.

"You were the vermin that caused me pain before!" Diablo bellowed at them in rage.

Flia, who was fixed on the Carnotaur out of fear and anticipation should he attack again, was broken from that trance. Before? What was he talking about? It was as if he knew about them… Then again, there was something that the _Pteranodon_ recalled from months before arriving in this time. Hazel did something to a Carnotaur back when the herd was traveling to the Nesting Grounds last year.

"Wait, have we met?" she questioned with suspicion. While she was trying to put two and two together, the bull lizard continued his tirade.

The carnivore snorted and gave a low growl to the _Pteranodon_. "I never forget faces, especially the prey that ruined my chances at getting an easy five-course feast!"

It was at that moment that both scout and alpha realized what he was referring to. They had met him before, but that was a long time ago. They had seen many Carnotaurs in their life, but one that recognized them AND could speak to them was like a rock being thrown at their face. While Neera was pondering on how their old enemy survived, Flia wanted to know if she was hallucinating rather than hearing the truth. She turned to their friend and asked hesitantly.

"Hazel…please tell me I'm going crazy…but is that the same Carnotaur from before?"

Hazel looked back at the pterosaur from watching the predator. She closed her eyes and grimly nodded. "The same one."

Flia finally put two and two together. She then remembered the woman's words when the Carnotaur was sent to a place where he could be "better maintained". Now she knew Hazel meant this valley, where the humans could handle him. This was too much for Flia to handle and was at a loss for words. The look that Hazel gave her was the same one she had when she told them she knew of the Fireball's coming.

Neera's eyes lit up with even more ferocity. This human, who rescued the herd from certain destruction, also rescued the one monster that plagued them in the past!? So many emotions were going through the female's mind. Hazel said that thing was dead, buried under rocks. Yet here he was, still alive in this valley. Neera knew little about this world and how humans lived, but she did know that Hazel somehow rescued her enemy from death, most likely from his fall.

"You mean…you saved the monster that killed my brother!?" she erupted at the small keeper.

The Asian took a step back from the sudden outburst and retorted in her defense. "Yeah I saved him…though there are times where I wonder why I did."

"Why!? Why did you save him and not Kron!?"

"Because Neera, Flia and I didn't get to him in time! Don't you remember?" Hazel stated one of the reasons. It was true, she wanted to save Kron, but her plan to do so was more of a wing-it situation. It wasn't properly set up, but she wanted to give the former leader a second chance. Unfortunately, that idea was moot when the predator took his life away.

Flia, who was originally furious at her best friend, somewhat relaxed after hearing that. Hazel had revealed that she wanted to save Kron, but could not due to the circumstances. However, she still demanded to know why she brought the Carnotaur here and not elsewhere.

While the conversation between prehistoric creatures and human was going on, the other keepers were watching the whole scene. They stopped firing at the command of Bob and Marcus when they noticed Hazel communicating with them all. Once again, the others were met with confusion as the conversation wore on.

The great predator let out a maniacal laugh at what had come out of the young female alpha's mouth. "Wait…that puny, weak leaf sucker on the cliff back then was your brother!? That's a laugh! He didn't put up much of a fight! That fool was a sniveling coward!"

Hazel turned her attention to the captive Cretaceous predator in irritation. Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, she defended her former boss' name, even though she never really liked him.

"Quiet Diablo! Kron fought with honor, something even you don't understand!"

Diablo shook his head and gave her a toothy, sadistic grin. "Honor my rear! That moronic waste of space ran from the very sight of me! Though killing him was a fair bit of entertainment. The sound of his body breaking in my jaws was very satisfying."

Neera's eyes formed small tears at the insult this monster was saying about her only family. "You monster!"

"If you're his sister, then you're just as weak as he is! You didn't put up much of a fight the last time we met. You had to rely on that despicable blue wretch to defeat me."

That statement took the alpha female aback. This Diablo was now insulting her own mate. She did not realize it, but he was toying with her emotions, defeating her in a mental game that she seemed to be losing. Insulting Aladar was like insulting her as well. She did not want to have any of it.

"Shut it! Don't you dare call Aladar that!" Neera retorted vehemently.

Diablo let out a huff, dismissing her warning. "If I heard the rumors correctly, then he's here somewhere, relying on help from these hairless insects. Pathetic…scum like himself suffering from little burns? And he was the one that nearly drove me to my death! You and your kind are all cowards; weaklings that break easily and can't even stand on their own against your betters!"

The fuchsia _Iguanodon_ went from angry, to furious, to outright pissed off in an instant. Diablo was insulting her through her dead brother and incapacitated mate. Wanting to turn the predator into a bloody pulp, she slowly stormed up to him, causing the nearby humans to scramble out of the way.

Flia wisely kept back from the situation and observed her friend continue on with her action. She knew from experience not to mess with an angry leader. Those beating she received from Kron in the past were lessons that she heeded to this day. Neera may be more level-headed and kinder than her arrogant brother, but she had never seen the alpha female this angry before. Flia watched in disbelief as the female marched up to the predator.

Hazel witnessed the whole situation between Neera and the opposing Diablo. Like the alpha, she too was insulted by the words the carnivore threw at them. She wanted to teach him a lesson as well, but she knew that he was toying with them.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you for killing my brother and insulting my mate!" Neera shouted in rage.

"Then come female, and show me what you are capable of," Diablo taunted, making Neera stalk towards the conniving meat-eater with looks to kill. "That's right 'Neera', you have to tear down these walls to get to me. Perhaps you will provide more sport than your sorry excuse of a brother!"

Diablo was pushing all of the alpha female's buttons, as his words ate away at the angered _Iguanodon's_ feelings and thoughts. She wanted nothing but to inflict as much harm as she could to monstrous theropod, even though she was unknowingly being manipulated by said carnivore.

Hazel ran over to the marching _Iguanodon_ and tried to push her back on her chest. The pain from her still-healing ribs shot up her body, causing her to hiss in pain. They were only about thirty feet away from the compound and her efforts caused Neera to stop in her tracks. Slightly horrified at what Hazel was doing, the female leader looked down on the small, hairless ape.

"Neera stop! He can't hurt anyone! He's just screwing with your head!" Hazel pleaded and ignored the painful jabs in her chest.

The raging female then pushed her off to the side with the right paw. Thankfully, the slender thumb spike did not make contact with her, as she was only hit by the flat of Neera's hoof. Hazel nearly fell over, but quickly regained her footing. Her ribs cried out in pain, but that did not concern her at the moment. She watched as her friend took off in a gallop towards the smug predator on the other side of the fence with a look of vengeance on her face. Hazel could read Diablo's face and she knew that if Neera continued her recklessness, she would just end up in his waiting jaws.

One of the keepers, a man in his late thirties with blonde hair and wearing the standard Prehistoric Park uniform, went over to her to check on her condition. Hazel shrugged him off, but then saw that he had one of those stun guns Marcus made. She quickly yanked the weapon away from him and ran close to the enclosure, leaving the protesting worker behind.

Hazel was only about fifteen feet away, but she took a gamble with the weapon she had. Just as Neera was mere feet away from the smug predator, the human raised her gun and took aim at him. Because of her shattered right arm, trying to wield the weapon with her left hand proved to be more difficult than expected because she was right-handed. Not only that, but the device was made to be handled by two hands. Nevertheless, she did not want her friend to injure herself in her rage and she REALLY did not want Diablo to be released in the process. Hazel put her finger on the trigger, took aim for his neck, and fired.

Like an actual gun, the weapon let out a loud pop when Hazel pulled the trigger. The prongs and wire flew through the air in the blink of an eye and made contact with Diablo's tough hide. The great beast roared in agony and shook his body away from the weapon's range. Infuriated and exhausted from the torture he received today, Diablo slunk away from the bars and from the audience's view in to the trees. Neera stopped her rampage, mere feet from the enclosure's fence, and looked back to the source of the sound and what caused Diablo to back away.

Hazel sighed and lowered the gun. She made eye contact with the now calm female _Iguanodon_ , her eyes now radiating gratitude.

Neera felt that she could not trust Hazel for bringing this predator here when this mess started, but seeing her make the predator retreat regained some of that trust back. Hazel was a true friend, one that could not stand to see those she cared about get hurt.

The girl sighed and dropped the gun where she was. "I think we've seen enough for today."

She then turned and walked away from the enclosure, wanting to get away from the aftermath of the scene. The alpha female watched her for a moment before turning around to follow her. As they walked, the other humans that gathered to see the spectacle gave way to the retreating duo. A few of the workers were throwing questions to Hazel on what just happened and what the big deal was. The woman merely shrugged her shoulders and replied "long story" before becoming silent.

Flia, who had witnessed the whole event, joined her friends when they got closer to her. She was worried about their safety and was planning to take off to teach the _Carnotaurus_ a lesson, but that plan was not needed when Hazel caused the beast to retreat.

After the trio left the vicinity and retrieved the children along with the lemurs from their hiding places, Bob, Marcus, and the other staff members went to work on repairing the minor damage on the enclosure. It was only a matter of time before talk of tonight's incident would spread to the rest of the park.

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The walk back to the Valley sector was filled with accusations and arguments. Like before, the lemurs rode on the alpha female's back while the children, Flia, and Hazel chose to walk. Neera and Flia were the only ones in the group to be conversing with her, and acted as everyone's voice. Though sometimes, Plio and Yar would step in to voice their opinions.

The children mostly kept quiet about the whole thing, but they were listening intently on the situation, even though they were a ways behind the bickering adults. They were also very shaken up about meeting a Carnotaur for the first time. They only heard about the predator from the stories their parents told them, but they never thought that their new home would have that horrid enemy.

"Of all the predators you humans could save, why did you pick the one that was trying to kill us in the first place!?" Yar accused vehemently for the third time.

Hazel let out an exasperated sigh. She was exhausted from walking all day today along with the verbal confrontation several minutes ago. "Yar, you heard what I said. Flia and I couldn't rescue Kron in time."

That response was met with a scoff from the _Pteranodon_ to her left. The scout rolled her eyes before telling her off. "Hazel, I still don't understand why you brought him here of all places. Now that he's seen us, he'll have a greater drive to break out of that prison."

The girl shook her head and waved her hand as a way to calm her down. "Not while we're around. Diablo's barrier along with those stun guns Marcus made will keep him at bay. The only way for him to escape would be if anyone breaks into his enclosure or if someone messes around with that generator that powers his barrier."

"Forget about the security!" Neera exploded at that remark. Doing so caused the human to jump and turn around to face the livid dinosaur. Everyone stopped and gathered around as a result. The children, on the other hand, stayed clear of the conversation, but listened intently.

"Hazel, I can't believe you! You rescued that horned freak instead of my only family, who lay dying on that cliff! How could you!?"

Hazel stood her ground, not giving way to the female's retort. She knew something like this would happen. For the second time this month, she was being met with accusations from her own friends. Hazel did not know how much more karma she could take.

"Neera, as much as I disliked your brother, he didn't deserve to die! I wanted to save him, but by the time we arrived, it was too late! Don't you see that!?" Hazel defended, genuinely sorry that events didn't play out in her favor. "At the end of the day, it was my decision. Whether it was the right or wrong choice, I'm not sure. But I'll just have to live with the consequences."

Moments of silence between the two passed. Neera calmed from her rage and let out a sigh. She still felt angry at Hazel for bringing their enemy here, but she felt a little better knowing that the human was intent on saving her brother. However, one question still remained in her mind.

"Alright…I can understand that. But why him? Why did you want to save the monster that plagued us so?" she asked in earnest after her short moments of anger.

The young keeper let out a breath then raised her hands up momentarily in a defeated gesture. Her friends were squeezing all of the answers out of her and she was feeling even more drained from this confrontation. "Look, if he survived a cave roof from collapsing on him, then he may have survived that fall. Then his reign of terror won't end."

"But why not bring him to another time?" Flia questioned her after walking a little closer until she was a few inches away from her face. "Why did you bring him to this place? Why not another place where he could die quickly?"

"Because if I brought him to another time period, then he would terrorize the innocents there. If I brought him to a time period where he would die, then I'd be no better than Diablo. Both of those reasons would brand me a killer," Hazel explained in complete honesty.

Everyone's mouths fell open and their eyes widened like marbles. Now they knew the reason why Hazel saved their enemy. It was because if she did not, then she would be a monster as well. If she sent him to a time like their own, he would reign supreme there. If she sent him to a place where he would die slowly, then Hazel would be like Diablo in a sense. So their friend chose the least of the three evils by bringing him to her time, where her kind could keep him at bay.

The defending woman inhaled deeply then relaxed with an exhale. She was not done yet and had more to speak of to her circle of friends. "There is another reason why I saved him. The mission of Prehistoric Park is to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction and bring them here to the present. We're not delegated to herbivores only; all creatures of the past are welcome here. Based on our knowledge, Carnotaurs only grew to about half the size of Diablo. We thought that was how big they grew. That is…until he came along. Another reason why we rescue predators is because in this time, they no longer walk the earth. We wanted to see them again. And Diablo here may have been the last of his species."

The fuchsia _Iguanodon_ , now with a better mindset and a clearer understanding of the situation before them, lowered her head to the human's eye level. Flia backed away to allow the ornithischian a chance to be closer to the human.

"Hazel, please tell me that you will make sure he does not cause any harm to anyone here," she quietly begged. Like everyone in the circle, everyone was concerned about the herd's safety.

Hazel placed a hand on the female's snout and gently stroked it. As a result, the prehistoric being closed her eyes and silently reveled from the gesture. "I promise. We're not going to let that monster cause any trouble."

She then licked her lips to ease the dryness before continuing. "Also, your brother wasn't a coward. He fought bravely, like a true warrior."

Neera opened her eyes and gave her a weak smile. Hearing Hazel say her brother in that sense brought ease to her aching heart. True, he wasn't the nicest dinosaur on the planet, but he was there for her, even though he masquerades his soft side with a stubborn demeanor. Hazel did not really like Kron the entire time she travelled with the herd, but she tried to protect him. That was enough for her.

"Thanks Hazel. I suppose I should tell the herd to avoid that part of the valley," she suggested to herself.

Hazel chuckled and pulled her hand away from the dinosaur's head, letting it relax on her side. "Amen to that sister."

Although neither of them knew the meaning of that word, they got the gist that she agreed with them.

"I think that is best too. Wouldn't want that carnivore to go ballistic again just by seeing members of the herd," Flia agreed.

The whole circle agreed on that as well. If Diablo saw any one of the herd members, trouble would be sure to follow. However, the staff members in the park had means to keep Diablo in check. The tour brought some ease to the prehistoric creatures' hearts. They even got to meet the other friendly residents and get more accustomed to Hazel's home. The valley was beautiful and offered everyone a home in a whole new world. Though the herd and the lemur clan would need time to get used to things, their future was secure.

The group went their separate ways soon after the discussion ended. With the sun now gone and the sky fading into a dark blue, twilight was upon them. The circle departed with lighter hearts and eased tensions. For the first time since before the meteor strike, they slept a little more easily in their new home.

 _And done! Chapter 16 is finally finished! Sorry about the delay, we had exams and papers on us. So we've noticed a few things on the comments section lately. First, yes we are aware that there are more herbivores than carnivores. Don't worry, we'll take care of that. Second, like Marc said, this isn't Jurassic Park, this is Prehistoric Park. So there won't be any cloning involved. Third, yes there have been a few scientific inaccuracies as of late, but this is a story. Diablo is the size of a T. rex and there were 2 meteor impacts close to the same time. So the Borealosaurus will be close to the same size as Baylene. For this story, they will be of the same genus, but an unknown species. We will keep to the magic of Prehistoric Park and rescue more animals in the future. Finally, yes we are aware of the orphan Iguanodons. They're still alive, but we will get to their fate later. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one!_


	17. A Hero's Return

_**Soundtrack: New Beginning by Audiomachine**_

A few weeks later…

A cool breeze overtook the valley in the early afternoon. The sun shone in the sky, unchallenged by the surrounding clouds. It was another beautiful day in Prehistoric Park, even though it was still the dry season. The temperatures still ranged from the 50s-70s, but no one was bothered by the climate.

It had been weeks since the herd first arrived in the valley. Like before, some herd members would be wandering through the recesses of the sanctuary, yet they would avoid the humans there as much as possible. Neera had already informed them of the areas they were allowed to visit…and the ones they needed to stay away from. The herd was informed of the predators in the park, which caused a number of the members to distrust the humans even more. However, Neera assured them that the predators would not cause them any harm so long as they remained in their enclosures and that there were a number of predators that were friendly. She even mentioned about Espantos, whom she labeled as harmless. Hearing the alpha female say the humans were in charge of the security of the park created an uneasy atmosphere through the large group of creatures. They were unsure about being in a valley that also housed carnivores, but if their current leader told them there was nothing to worry about, then who were they to judge? Their fears may be slightly quelled, but the feeling of uneasiness was apparent on every member of the herd.

Other than the herd going through its rocky adjustment in their new home, life went on as usual in the park. Terrence and Matilda's sentence had been extended due to their constant prattling. Theo and Ellie were beginning to warm up to each other, starting their friendship on a better note. The _Borealosaurus_ were getting along smoothly with Baylene the _Brachiosaurus_ and had already accepted her as one of their own. The mating season for a number of the creatures was over, which brought about a calm through the park. The elephant herd went on their usual activities in their savannah, who were usually joined by three certain _Iguanodons_ that always hung around the matriarch's daughter. Everything seemed to be okay…except for a certain park keeper who was in the biggest pickle of his career.

Nigel quickly shifted from one area of his office to the next. Papers lay strewn all over the floor and books were scattered everywhere. For the last few weeks, he had been subdued and nearly always holed up in his office. The staff wondered about why their leader had been acting so troubled lately, but whenever they asked, he would just shrug them off. There were times when he would go out to check on the Residents, but afterwards, he would just spend nearly all day in his office. The only one who was aware of the situation was Marcus, who was downtrodden about it as well. The engineer had spent the last few hours in his boss' office, trying to find a solution to the budget crisis as well. Earlier, he was advised to keep quiet about the problem to prevent anybody from panicking. The younger employee obliged, but he himself was unsure about any solutions to this problem. So far, every possible solution they found would only be met by a brick wall.

"What if we sought help from another organization?" the engineer suggested and turned to his boss. The head park keeper did the same and gave him a doubtful expression. "Having another benefactor for the park would help in maintaining the budget."

"And risk revealing a hidden sanctuary filled with extinct creatures to the world?" Nigel stated the obvious with concern. "Absolutely not."

Marcus then strode forward and stopped just a few inches from his manager's face. Both of their expressions radiated worry, stress, and defeat. This situation was much worse than handling rogue carnivores, running for their lives, or escaping destruction from natural forces.

"Boss, if we can't find a solution to this, then there's only one other thing we can do. We're going to have to release some of the Residents," he told him grimly.

"No…I can't…" Nigel shook his head and sat back down at his desk. He placed his hands on his forehead and rubbed his temples. All of this pondering and stress has given him a headache that lasted for hours.

"Boss... It's either we release some of the Residents, and then the Park will continue to limp on. Or we do nothing and drain all of our money caring for them until we close the Park for good. Either way Nigel... We may have to say goodbye to some Residents in the near future."

His eyes became watery when he uttered those depressing words. If nothing was done, then the only thing to do would be to release some of the creatures. By doing so, the park budget would not be strained as much. The man was about to cry when his phone suddenly rung to life. Marcus turned to that direction as well and watched the phone vibrate and ring on the man's desk. He turned his head to the left and saw his touch screen phone erupt with an upbeat jingle tone. It was the opening theme song to a company song and most would find it quite annoying to listen to. However, Nigel found it amusing and decided to use it. Little did he know that the ringtone was the jingle of a certain company theme song that he found to be catchy. The song lasted for about ten seconds then would repeat itself. It was like listening to an old 1990s dinosaur phone.

To Marcus, it was one of the most annoying things in the world. Relief came over him when he saw his boss make his way to get the device.

Nigel grabbed for the phone that was on top of a stack of papers at the edge of his desk and stared at the screen. The vibrations of the phone permeated through his hand as he held it. The screen showed a self-portrait image of the Park's head veterinarian in an up-close shot. Wondering as to why she would be calling him at this time, he slid the green answer feature across the bottom of the screen with his left thumb and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

" _Nigel! Thank God you picked up!"_ Suzanne hollered with exasperation through the phone.

"Suzanne? What's wrong?" he asked the seemingly excited veterinarian.

" _Nigel, is Hazel with you?"_

The creator shook his head in response to that. "No, she's over at the Valley sector. Why?"

" _Oh Jesus…"_ Suzanne groaned on the phone. _"She needs to be here for this."_

"Here?" Nigel went again. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

" _Nigel, just come to the infirmary now!"_ she ordered him through the phone and then hung up.

Nigel slowly pulled the cell phone away from his ear and then stared at the contraption. The head vet said something about the infirmary. There was no doubt that she was referring to Aladar, the leader of the herd in the valley.

"Boss, what's going on?" Marcus asked and gave him an expectant look.

The man wearing the blue shirt and vest turned to his younger employee and gave him a faraway look. "We need to get to the infirmary. Now!"

Without delay, the duo quickly evacuated from the office with haste. Pushing their thoughts on the budget crisis from their minds, they rushed towards the Park infirmary, concerned for the _Iguanodon_ housed inside. Their concern over the well-being of the Park Residents would have to wait.

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Valley sector

A few minutes before…

While Nigel was pondering on how to solve the Park's budget crisis, Hazel was minding her own business in the Park's Valley sector. The past few weeks have allowed her arm and ribs to heal significantly; she did not need to use the sling anymore, but the cast still needed to be kept on for a little longer according to Suzanne. As for her ribs, they were recovering nicely. Hazel would take any painkillers if her ribs bothered her, but other than that, the pain was beginning to die down. She even got back into the swing of things and resumed her duties with helping around the park. The Residents were happy to see one of their favorite, or annoying to some certain Residents, keepers back in action.

The young woman sat cross-legged on one of the grassy hills at the border of the Valley sector, reading from a dinosaur encyclopedia from one of her bookshelves. While she helped around the park, she noticed that there was a large difference between the number of carnivores and herbivores. This also included the rescue of Aladar and Neera's herd, which set the ratio completely off balance. Noticing this observation, she began to plan for a new rescue, one that she would have to bring up to Nigel once it was formulated.

If Hazel had bothered to pay any attention to her surroundings, she would have noticed her best friend Flia land just a few feet to her right.

The pterosaur slowly strode towards the human until she was mere inches from her side. Hazel knew the scout was there and casually greeted her while still staring into the book.

"Hey Flia," she greeted.

"Hey. Um…what are you doing?" the _Pteranodon_ asked, eyeing the curious object on the girl's legs.

As she observed the flat wooden thing, she could make out the various colors and shapes on the flattened space. On the left side were what appeared to be small, black squiggles that were accompanied by what she thought were painted leaves stuck on the space. On the right side was the image of a vicious carnivore towering over another of its kind; most likely defeating a rival in battle. The creatures had a grey hide with black stripes on their sides, bright red crests over their eyes, and three fingers on their hands. Seeing the predators on something like this both intrigued the scout and frightened her a little.

"I'm reading," Hazel simply replied. "Er…doing some research to be exact."

"Reading?" Flia inquired, which caused her friend to look over at her and away from the book.

"It's one of the things we humans do to pass the time or aid us in certain situations. It's how we learn about the world, how we get informed on any current events, how we learn about the past, and a whole bunch of other stuff."

The scout looked on with even more confusion. Seeing that expression caused Hazel to giggle a little. She knew that her friends, along with the rest of the herd, would have all sorts of questions about this time. Thinking about them asking all sorts of questions about this world amused her.

" _Like teaching little kids,"_ she mused to herself.

"So…those carnivores on your hands are not going to hurt you from that thick leaf?" Flia asked while glowering at the page showing the two predators fighting.

Hazel shook her head and raised the book up so that the pterosaur could have a better look. "Nope, they won't attack. It's just an image of them. And this thing is called a book. Books can have a lot of things in its pages and can be about many topics. The one that I'm holding now is like a collection of the many different types of prehistoric creatures found throughout time."

"Really?" Flia retreated her head back in surprise. "Is my kind in there?"

In response to that, the girl quickly flipped through the pages until she arrived at the desired section. Like the previous pages, this one had numerous information about _Pteranodons_ , but the image of the famous pterosaur encompassed both pages. Flia looked on at the image and became glued to it. She had seen others of her species before, but never before had she seen one of this kind. The creature looked similar to her except for a few minute differences. The crest was a little narrower and was adorned with red and blue stripes with beige tints at the bottom. The head was nearly covered in the blue tint that ran down its back and its eyes were surrounded by a crimson red. The beak was colored in a goldenrod hue and the rest of its body was colored beige. Behind the pterosaur in the image were others of its kind that flew close by. As interesting as the image was of her kind, Flia could not help but scoff at the interpretation.

"Is that supposed to be me in there?"

Hazel shrugged her shoulders. "No. See we humans don't really know what you guys, along with any other prehistoric creature we find, looked like in real life. Well…except everyone here at the park. So the artists of this book tried to imagine everything they possibly could about the appearances. The image you're seeing is of a _Pteranodon_ , but of a different species."

"So you're saying that there are others of my kind found elsewhere that looked different?" Flia questioned her after the girl's explanation on pterosaur appearances.

"Yup. Do you remember when we first met? When I deduced what you actually were?" she reminded the scout.

Flia had to pause for a minute at that statement. Thinking back to when she first rescued Hazel, she recalled her saying something about what she was. The pterosaur remembered the event like it was yesterday, but she could not recall what the girl was going on about.

"I remember that time, but I couldn't really understand what you were saying," she remembered.

"I was saying that you were a _Geosternbergia_ , which is a type of pterosaur that is similar to the _Pteranodons_. But then there is a _Pteranodon_ species called _Pteranodon sternbergi_ , which is most likely the alternative for you."

As informative as that was, Flia was getting even more confused the more she thought about it. Saying this time period was nothing like her home time was an understatement. All of these new sights, objects, and information was definitely a lot. Even hearing that there were others like her caught her by surprise.

So many questions were flowing through the pterosaur's mind, but there was one that she wanted answered. The rest of them, she could ask on another day.

"So what about that previous area you were in? With those carnivores? What are those?"

Hazel eyed her curiously, but then her eyes lit up in realization. She promptly turned the pages back until she was back at that section of the book. The pages once again showed the image of the two predators fighting each other.

"The pages I was looking at is about a carnivore called an _Allosaurus_. It's a predator that lived during the Jurassic period, which was several million years before your time," she explained with confidence. It had been a long time since Hazel taught anyone about dinosaurs. Back in school, she was regarded as a dinosaur nerd because she would always read books about them. Now, her interest returned again in the form of teaching a flying reptile.

"Why were you looking at that thing?" Flia stared at the girl intently.

The girl sighed and closed the book on her lap. She then placed next to her and stretched her legs in front. She had been sitting cross-legged for so long that her limbs were starting to get a bit sleepy. "Well, I've noticed the past few weeks that there were more herbivores than carnivores here in the park. And with all the room we've got here, I've been thinking of going on another mission, this time to rescue that kind of dinosaur."

That statement caused the _Pteranodon_ to squawk in horror. The reaction nearly caused the human to jump as well. "Are you kidding me!? You're planning on rescuing a carnivore!?"

"Flia, don't you remember what I said about Prehistoric Park? That all creatures are welcome here, carnivores included?" Hazel reminded with a stern expression.

Flia thought for a moment and then relented. "Right…forgot about that. So you really plan on rescuing that thing?"

The Asian nodded. "Yeah."

" _And it is one of my favorite carnivores,"_ she mentally added.

"Will anyone be coming with you?" Flia went again.

Hazel scratched her head and looked away for a moment. She didn't really think about that part, but she was planning on requesting to Nigel if she could go for the mission first. Her solo mission in rescuing the herd went well, so why not another one? She then looked at Flia and smiled.

"Depends. Why do you ask?"

The sky scout stood tall and looked down on the young female with pride in her eyes. "Well if you're going on a mission like that, then I'm coming with you."

Hazel could not help but gawk at her. "What!? You want to come along?"

"Well someone needs to make sure you come back in one piece. Plus, what if that thing tries to eat you?" Flia playfully argued.

"Um…we've got jeeps for quick getaways," she tried to reason, even though she was poking fun.

"Uh huh…and can those things even fly?"

Hazel rolled her eyes at that statement. She wanted to tease Flia even more, but the pterosaur won't give up on trying to join her on the upcoming mission. Plus, having air support would help in getting away from vicious carnivores like an _Allosaurus_. It was also a good way for Hazel to show how she and the rest of the staff members here rescued new Residents.

"Oh all right…you can come," the girl relented.

Flia put on a victorious expression and smirked at the human. She then nudged her playfully on the shoulder with her clawed fingers. It was kind of like how a person would do so in front of one of their friends.

The woman generously acknowledged the gesture then stood up to her companion until she was at eye level, or at least close to it. "Well before we get to rescuing anything, we'll have to get to Nigel first. Going to need to get his-"

Suddenly, the phone in her pocket rang. Flia was taken aback by the sudden sound and craned her head to the back of her partner to find the source. To the pterosaur, it sounded like a group of _Parasaurolophus_ trumpeting in an odd synchronization. On the human's perspective, her phone was just playing the main theme of Jurassic Park.

"What the-!?" Flia blurted out but was then cut off by Hazel grabbing the phone from her back pocket. She saw her do something with her fingers on the purple contraption and then put it to her right ear. The trumpeting stopped when she did so.

"Hello?" she said on the phone.

Moments of silence passed, which was then broken by Hazel replying.

"Yeah," she went again. However, her cheerful expression changed into one of complete shock. "WHAT!?"

Seeing her best friend go like that caused Flia to get concerned. As she studied the human's reaction, she could tell that there was a hint of excitement, relief, and joy on her face. She wanted to know what was going on by asking her, but her attempt was blocked by the girl talking on the device again.

"Are you serious!?" she hollered into the phone speakers.

As the person on the other line spoke, Hazel's mouth started to drop like a rock. Flia was getting all the more impatient on what was happening. Demanding to know the situation, she spoke up and tried to get in on the action.

"Hazel what's going on?" Flia asked her. Her only response came in the form of Hazel lifting an index finger up. That signal was for her to wait for a moment. The pterosaur sighed and looked away while trying to contain her ever-growing impatience.

"Okay, on my way!" she replied, pressed something on the device, then stored her phone away into her back pocket.

The _Pteranodon_ returned her attention to the human, finally having the chance to get a say in the situation. "What was that about?"

The excitement on Hazel's face was definitely apparent. Something over that device had caused her to be really happy. For the first time in a while, her face was beaming. It was like that time when Hazel flew through the sky the first day she came back to the Nesting Grounds. Whatever the girl heard, it was good news.

"That was Suzanne. Flia, I need you to get back to the valley and…wait, scratch that. First, please get me to the infirmary. Then go and find Neera!" she animatedly requested in one breath.

"What?" Flia shook her head in wonder. "Why?"

The smile on Hazel's face got even bigger. "It's Aladar. He's waking up!"

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Prehistoric Park Infirmary

The entirety of the infirmary complex in Prehistoric Park was in a frenzy. Back and forth, vets were milling about, trying to analyze the injured Aladar's condition for any more minute injuries on his body. A number of them were frantically, but carefully, removing the remaining bandages on his body. His burnt hide had healed considerably thanks to the vets' work and the healing period. However, the darkened blue patches on his back looked as if some blue dye had splashed onto him. Burns can be treated, but could not be rid of that easily.

Suzanne watched as her team rushed to prepare Aladar for discharge. The vet stood at the large garage door into the complex, observing everything with satisfaction. She never thought that anyone, even herself, would go through something as harrowing as third degree burns. It was a good thing all those years in medical school paid off.

A series of footsteps behind her prompted the vet to turn around. Running up towards her were Nigel and Marcus. They stopped before her and breathed heavily after their rush to getting here.

"We're here. What's going on?" Nigel started and watched his colleague for an answer.

"Aladar's wounds have mostly healed. The skin-grafting has done its work and the burns have nearly recovered. There's really no need to keep him asleep anymore, so we're about ready to reunite him with his herd," Suzanne explained while eyeing the _Iguanodon_. The vets around him were hurriedly getting the medical equipment and used bandages away from the soon-to-be-awake dinosaur. "I figured you would need to be here for this."

"Well I'm glad to hear that," the head keeper sighed with relief. "But that bloke's going to be pretty surprised when he wakes up. Does Hazel know about this?"

The dark-haired woman nodded and glanced at her superior before turning her attention to the ornithischian. "Yes, I even called her here not long after I called you. Speaking of which, she should be here by now. The Valley sector isn't that far away."

Marcus shrugged his shoulders at that then looked behind him. As if on cue, a certain pterosaur descended from his 3:00 position. The flyer zoomed down quickly and landed nimbly just a few feet from the engineer. Marcus nearly lost his footing and staggered back, nearly knocking the senior members from their feet. Both of which let out surprised yelps then glared at him for his action.

"Marcus!?" Suzanne gave him a scowl.

"Sorry, but look who just got here," he eyed the vet then pointed over in the direction of the disturbance.

Both vet and park leader turned their attention to that direction and gawked at the sight. Well, except for Nigel, since he was used to this sort of thing. Standing before them was the _Pteranodon_ that came with the herd in the valley. Nigel and Hazel already informed nearly everyone in the park about her presence and have seen Flia on numerous occasions around the area, but Suzanne and Marcus were among the ones that never saw her in person. The pterosaur before them had a brown hide that was mixed with hints of purple on her back. Her purple crest was small for her species, but that was because she was female.

They were even more surprised to see the youngest Park member dismount from the flying reptile's back. With a grunt, she landed on the ground in a crouching position before getting back up. She then turned to Flia and thanked her for getting to her destination.

"Thanks Flia!" she hollered and watched her friend take off into the skies once more. The pterosaur disappeared over the roof of the complex as she made her way back to the valley to find a certain alpha on the good news.

Hazel diverted her attention to the senior staff before her and rushed up to them. "Sorry about that. Am I late?"

"Did…did you just ride on that _Geosternbergia_?" Suzanne uttered in disbelief.

"Yes. Yes I did. And it's best if you call her a _Pteranodon sternbergi_. Before you get all scientific on me about what she really is, just go along with it. You try to call her a _Geosternbergia_ , she'll just deny it. Believe me, I tried. Anyway, I'm here. How's Aladar?" she said in one breath.

Right when she said that, the vets within the complex let out cries and backed away from the giant patient. Hazel turned her gaze inside and gasped. It was only for a few seconds, but she saw one of his legs jerk, which caused the vets to back away cautiously.

It was also at that time when Hazel got a good look at the vets' hard work. The areas that were mostly affected by the blazing winds were replaced by darker skin portions on his hide. They were mottled and scattered all over his back like the continent of Russia. However, it was the best they could do in healing the herd leader. Hazel knew those scars would be on him for life, but at least he was alive.

She rushed over to her friend's side the minute she saw more movements from his body. She told the other workers to back away so that he could have room. The confused vets did as they were told and gave the duo some space. From where they were, they observed the young staff member kneel down by the dinosaur's head. She watched his form for what seemed to be minutes, but all that waiting was enough for her.

The leader stirred and awoke with a groan. His bright green eyes met the young human's gaze. Hazel gave him a small smile and a tear went down one of her eyes.

"Hazel?" he coughed out in a raspy voice.

"Morning sleepyhead…" she greeted in tears.

When Aladar's vision cleared, he could see the tears streaming down the girl's face. Her eyes were starting to turn red and her breaths became shaky. An eye ridge went up as he continued to make his observation.

"Are...are you crying?" Aladar curiously asked her.

In response, Hazel wiped her tears with her left hand and sniffled. She then gave him a reassuring smile, then tried to school features to avoid showing him her emotions. "No. I...I just had some dust in my eyes was all."

"Uh huh...sure," he playfully teased. He then noticed the white cast that was on Hazel's right arm. At first, he thought it was some kind of odd rock until he realized that it was wrapped tightly around her limb. He scrutinized it for a moment before looking back at her.

"Hazel, what happened to your arm?"

The girl immediately tensed up at that statement. His words served as a mental reminder that he missed out on a lot of things while he was incapacitated. She wanted Aladar to have as little stress as possible on his first day out of recovery, which meant keeping quiet about the negative events that occurred after he was taken to the infirmary.

"I uh...got into an argument with a bully. Which resulted in my broken arm here. Just a huge disagreement," Hazel half-lied.

"Does it hurt?" he asked next.

Hazel closed her eyes and shook her head before staring back at him. "No. Just can't operate very well with it for a while."

The dinosaur was about to talk more on the subject of his friend's broken limb when he noticed the other humans that stood a few ways from him. Aladar turned his head towards the entrance and gawked at what he was seeing. There were at least twenty other humans in the area, but more surprisingly was the fact that he was in some sort of smooth, metal cave. He looked all around and did his best to take in his surroundings. There were so many structures and objects that he could not make heads or tails of.

"Hazel, where are we?" he questioned the human. Once he looked over his back, he noticed the dark blue splotches over most of his posterior. His eyes widened in horror and shock at the condition of his body. His once pristine, blue-green hide was now stained by large, dark blue, rough splotches. "What happened to my back!?"

"Aladar, don't you remember? You got burned by the ash cloud made by the Fireball when we escaped," Hazel calmly told him.

It was then that Aladar realized what she was referring to. He closed his eyes and thought back to when the herd escaped the Nesting Grounds. The herd had made it through some hole Hazel's companion Nigel created that led into another world, which he deduced was this one. He also remembered that he went back into the forest to find and rescue his sons, their friends, and Hazel from the burning inferno. They made it in time before the Fireball blast scorched everything, but then, when they made it through…

"I remember...agonizing pain from that blast. I pulled you in at the last minute to protect you. Then...after that...I remember seeing our friends and family before I succumbed to the wounds," Aladar recalled. "My memory's fuzzy, but the last thing I remembered was being brought somewhere and something being put on my face."

Hazel sighed and looked down in shame. Hearing Aladar recant the day of the Fireball was bringing her into a state of depression again. As much as she wanted to move on from the subject, he should at least know what happened to him. "Aladar, you sustained a lot of second and third degree burns from that blast. The...healers here quickly brought you to this area so that they could help you. The injuries you sustained were so intense that they had to remove parts of your skin. But in order for them to do so, they had to knock you out for an extended period of time. Don't worry, your skin's recovered well, but those scars will be there for a long time."

Hearing that brought feelings of bewilderment and disbelief went through the leader's mind like a cannonball. The fact that these humans removed parts of his body sounded horrifying, yet at the same time, if they did not do what they did, he would have died. In the past, he received scratches, bruises, and brutal impacts, but never in his whole life did he receive injuries like these. He remembered his hide being burnt to a dark crisp, but now he was looking at skin that looked rejuvenated, at least for the most part. The darkened parts on his blue-green scales would be on there for the rest of his days, but they were something he could take. He was alive, and he was grateful the humans saved him.

"How long was I out?" Aladar glanced back at the young human girl.

Hazel swallowed to wet her throat and then replied. "You were out for five weeks."

"Five weeks!?" he exclaimed and quickly got up. Doing so caused a sharp pain to go up his back like lightning. Aladar shut his eyes to block out the stinging on his posterior and let out a groan. Hazel got up and stroked his chest, causing him to settle down a bit.

"Easy Aladar. Your wounds are still a bit tender. It's going to take a while for them to fully heal," she told him in an effort to get him to relax.

"Neera…" Aladar breathed out under the stress. "My kids, Flia, Plio, everybody…are they okay?"

Hazel looked up at him and nodded. "They're safe. They're in the valley we set aside for them."

"I need to get back to them," he strained from the now receding sensation on his recovering burns.

"Okay, I'll take you there," Hazel acknowledged and began to lead him out of the complex. The vets and the senior staff members wisely moved out of the way of the incoming ornithischian and the young adult.

Everyone who witnessed Hazel speaking to the dinosaur and leading him out of the infirmary were amazed by the sight. She spoke to him as if he were speaking in plain English, which was something most of them could never fathom the thought of. Now that they witnessed her in the act and the dinosaur following close behind her, their perspective on the creatures of the park, or any prehistoric animal, drastically changed.

A number of the staff members, including Marcus, Suzanne, and Nigel, all followed the two towards the Valley sector. Even Bob, who had just returned from his lunch break, witnessed the odd parade through that part of the park. The Residents, including a number of the modern day animals that lived in the park, could only stare in wonder as they passed on by.

During the walk, however, Marcus remembered something that he wanted to test out for a while now. He never got to do so because of the budget crisis that came along and his job as an engineer. In addition, he didn't want anyone to know about it because people may think he was crazy for doing something like that and of the large chance it would not work. He did start it after bringing Hazel back from the hospital, but it was a shoddy piece of work. After all, it was a prototype. When they were about to get within reach of the _Therizinosaurus_ complex, the man snuck away from the group and went in the opposite direction towards his workshop.

The walk to the border of the Valley sector soon came within reach. The entire walk was quiet for the first few minutes, save for the occasional questions Aladar had about the place. After a while, Hazel decided to tell him everything; from the contents of her mission, to her return to the Nesting Grounds, and finally to her knowledge of the Fireball. She paid no mind to her friend's reactions on the subject. All she wanted to do now was to get him back to the herd so that everyone's worries would be settled. Though his silence on the topic while she explained everything did unnerve her a bit.

As they climbed one of the hills that overlooked that part of the valley, a pang of fear struck Hazel's stomach. She hoped that returning Aladar to the herd would at least allow them to trust her, and by extension the other people in the park, again. If not, then maybe a little more. She prayed in her mind for that outcome.

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Valley Sector

A few minutes ago...

After dropping Hazel off at the infirmary per her request, Flia set off to find Neera to tell her the good news. As she flew through the 21st century sky looking for the alpha female, she noticed something about her surroundings. She could not place it, but there was something about the landscape that looked familiar. It could have been the mountains, the vegetation, or both, but something in the back of her mind was nudging at her continuously. The sky scout wanted to think more of the matter, but right now, getting to Neera was of top priority. Pushing the thought away for the time being, she folded her wings and descended to the ground below like a rocket.

Below her, various members of the herd were grazing on the modern day plains of Prehistoric Park. Some were headed towards the forests around the valley to look for food within the treeline. Others kept to the open fields or around the lake, such as the hulking form of Baylene and the stout figure of Eema nearby. The dinosaurs may be affected significantly by the destruction of the Nesting Grounds, but they were attempting to move on from that. Even though the valley was given to them after their home was destroyed, a number of them were uneasy about trying to continue on with life in a new world. However, Neera assured them that there was nothing to worry about and that this was the time to start anew. Although that idea felt the move uncomfortable to most, some were grateful about escaping their destruction and starting over.

The mating season was upon them, and some members of the herd were preparing for it. The males of each species were either sparring each other or attempting to win the affections of the females. The ceratopsians were each butting heads with each other in competitions for dominance. The same went for the smaller ornithischians, like the _Stygimoloch_ , who were bellowing and charging at each other with their sharpened craniums. The _Parasaurolophus_ were trumpeting at high frequencies to attract mates, almost to the point where Flia would go deaf if she were close to them. The _Iguanodons_ and the _Struthiomimus_ had their own tactics of dominance, mainly in the form of beating each other with their own bodies and bellowing at their loudest. Finally, the _Microceratus_ , while small, were coming at each other with roaring contests with their loud squeaks and pips.

As the _Pteranodon_ flew over the groups of competing and flirting herbivores, she eventually found the one dinosaur she had been looking for. Neera had been grazing at the right edge of the forest along with all of her children. When Flia slowed her approach, she noticed the _Iguanodons_ were not alone, for sitting nearby were Plio, Yar, Zini, Suri, and Aya.

"Neera!" the flyer called out to the female leader. Neera's head jerked out of the forest vegetation and turned to the direction of the voice.

The others followed her example and witnessed the scout land before them. She was panting heavily, as if she came from a flying marathon. The pterosaur's head was close to the ground as she tried to regain her breath.

"Flia, what is it?" the alpha politely demanded.

"Is something wrong?" the lemur matriarch added as she observed the pterosaur quickly recover.

"Guys…it's Aladar…" she heaved out and beamed at them with a toothless grin.

Hearing their loved one's name roused some excitement within the prehistoric creatures. They did not know what was happening, or whether it was good or bad. But it had something to do with Aladar, and that fully got their attention.

Neera's face emanated urgency and she went down to the flyer's eye level after taking a few steps closer. "Aladar? What's happened? Is he okay? Tell me everything!"

"Neera…" Flia started and did her best to contain her overjoyed emotions. "The humans succeeded in healing him. Hazel's with him now and they're coming here!"

Everyone's mouths seemed to drop to the ground at the sound of Flia's good news. The children were silent for the most part, but that was broken with Suri and Zini going ecstatic over the news.

"Aladar's okay!?" Suri screamed out and jumped nonstop in front of her family. "We need to get over there now!"

"She's right! We gotta greet him!" Zini added and promptly left the group in his wake.

Aya, who was doing a good job containing her excitement, quickly left as well to join her boyfriend. "Uh…Zini! Wait for me!"

The fuchsia _Iguanodon_ jerked her head in the distance towards the main part of the valley. Her children all gasped and looked up to their mother to see if what their family friend said was true. For the next few moments, Neera said nothing as she stared out at the grassy hills that served as the border of the Valley sector.

"Mommy, is it true?" Maya was the first to ask her mother.

"Dad's coming here!?" Talin went next, his eyes beaming with elation.

Yar wanted to know if he was hallucinating or if that was true. He patted his granddaughter's shoulder, thus making her stop hopping, and made his way to the herd's scout. Stopping in front of her, he looked up and gazed at her with a serious expression.

"Flia, are you sure you didn't eat anything that screwed with that pointy head of yours? What if what you heard wasn't what you think it was?" he questioned after crossing his arms.

The _Pteranodon_ looked down at the elder lemur and chuckled. "Yar, it's the truth. Would I ever lie to anyone?"

"I've got to be sure then…" Neera said aloud before bolting towards the Valley border. The lemurs, the kids, and Flia quickly followed suit right behind her.

In Neera's desperate wake, she let out the loudest bellows she could muster. Her high-pitched sounds caused every single member of the herd and the lemurs in the trees to stop their business and watch her go. They all recognized that sort of sound as one of urgency. In their minds, they were thinking they were in danger, but the expression she wore on her face said otherwise.

"Everyone! Get to the Valley borders now!" she hollered out to them.

Without delay, each and every member of the herd rushed over to the border of the valley. In a matter of minutes, the entire herd was stampeding towards the grounds' edge. It did not take very long for them to reach their destination. All of them stopped when the alpha female stood at one of the hill's bases. Flia landed just a few feet from her and gazed up at the top of the hill. As for Baylene, Eema, and the rest of their companions, they waited behind the herd where they were safe from getting pushed around if a stampede were to occur.

For minutes, she waited. If she knew the _Pteranodon_ well, it was that she never lied about anything. In her heart, she believed her. But in her head, she was not so sure. Aladar coming here good as new seemed too good to be true. Then again, this was a new time, and she did not know how the humans operated in this land.

Behind her, the herd was getting anxious. All of them clamored and muttered about why they were brought there and away from their business. The cacophony of voices was broken when a figure walked up from behind the hill.

The figure that was slowly approaching the top of the geologic landmark appeared to be a quadruped. When he got to the top, they noticed he had a bright blue-green hue to his hide with a hint of purple on his snout. The familiar figure stared down at them with weary green eyes, but were then alit with happiness when he recognized the group.

Neera's eyes filled with tears and a smile creased across her face. At first, she thought it was all a dream. Her mate should have been lying somewhere in the park, suffering from his wounds. But, with Flia's words of him coming here, that theory was void. Her mate was here, alive and well.

"Aladar…" she tearfully called his name.

The alpha male reared his head up to the sky and let out the loudest bellows from deep within. In response to his call, all of the other members of the herd and the lemurs let out their cries of joy. The lemurs, who were either on Baylene's head or on Eema's stubby horns, could not believe their eyes as their adopted family member stood on top of the hill. As for the children, they muscled through the other members of the herd just so that they could join their mother in welcoming their father back.

As soon as Aladar was finished bellowing, he rushed down the hill, eager to reunite with his family. The herd did the same as they rushed up to their returning leader. The creatures surrounded the leader, his mate, and his children, giving him a heroes' welcome.

As for Hazel, she witnessed the whole event when she got to the top. Watching the herd with smiles on their faces on their alpha's return brought relief to the girl's heart. However, seeing them also saddened her a little, as she did not know what would happen next. A frown crossed her face as she made her way down the hill to join the others.

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Aladar's return to the herd was truly a miracle. Never before had any one of their own survived from wounds such as the ones he obtained. In Neera's eyes, it was as if some kind of angel appeared before her to give her life back. The alpha female said nothing after she craned her neck over her mate's in a tight embrace. Red hot tears streamed down her face as she let out loud sobs.

"Aladar I missed you…" she cried as she broke down.

The blue-green _Iguanodon_ shushed her and stroked her cheek with his. "I missed you too. All of you."

When he said that, he lowered his head so that he could greet his children before him. All of them gathered around their father and nudged their heads against his body, feeling the warmth of his skin. He pawed them all and even returned the gesture with a few nudges of his own. Out of all of his kids, Alden was the lucky one as he got to be up front with his father. However, while they were embracing him, the children, and even Neera, noticed the healing wounds on his back. His family recoiled in shock, their eyes wide like marbles.

"Dad what happened to your back!?" Talin was the first to ask him.

Aladar softly chuckled. "Just…a little something I got from the Fireball."

At that time, the herd had already taken notice of their leader's wounds. Whispers and mutters went around about the state of his injuries. While the confusion was going through their minds, they were also wondering as to how the humans managed to save his life.

"Does it hurt?" Saya wondered after making her way in front of her dad with her younger brother.

"Yeah…it's going to take a while for them to fully heal," he explained to his family, and by extension, the herd.

"Hey, at least now you've got more marks to add to the collection," Flia joked nearby.

Aladar gave her a playful scowl on that remark. "Haha Flia, very funny."

"What? It's true! You've survived a lot of things, and this one's the biggest trial you've overcome. It shows you're tough as talons!" she defended her comment.

The dinosaur let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Okay I guess you're right."

Just then, chatters and whoops came from within the herd. Aladar perked his had up in time to see five familiar lemurs making their way towards him. All of them he recognized instantly when they approached him; three of which had brown and white fur, one of them was nearly pure white, while the last was a scruffy yellow. The prehistoric primates stopped jumping before their adopted family member after the children, the scout, and the alpha female gave way to them.

"Aladar!" Plio called with tears in her eyes. In response, her adopted son lowered his head and allowed the matriarch to hug him on his snout. "Thank goodness you're okay…"

"I can't believe it!" Suri said the same and joined her mother in embracing him. Aya and Yar went up to them and watched their adopted family member with proud expressions.

"Well are you a sight for sore eyes!" Zini whooped and jumped onto his back, surprising him a little from his action and from him jumping on a sensitive spot. Aladar lifted his head up and looked back at his adopted uncle, slightly wincing in pain.

"Zini, can you get off? Still a little sore there…" he strained under his voice.

"Whoops!" the lemur chuckled and jumped off with a great leap. He then joined his girlfriend in front of the ornithischian. "Sorry!"

"Aladar, we were starting to think you wouldn't make it," Yar rumbled with slight laughter. "If a Carnotaur can't take you down, then neither can a ball of fire."

Aladar chuckled and retreated back a little to gaze upon his family and friends. "It's going to take a lot more than that to put me out."

"And I knew it!" Eema suddenly said as she muscled her way through a couple of _Parasaurolophus_ , a small group of _Microceratus_ that scampered out of the way of the stout ceratopsian, and a _Pachyrhinosaurus_.

"See? What'd I tell you? Aladar wouldn't give up without a fight. And yet here he is, good as new," the elder added but then caught sight of the marks on his back. She raised an eye ridge then sighed. "Well almost."

Url lumbered towards the dinosaur from his master's side playfully rolled around in circles. He even started rearing back on his two feet just so that he could try to lick the ornithopod's face. Aladar smiled at the action and watched the ankylosaur with his useless, yet funny, attempts.

"I just knew you would pull through," Baylene added after taking her place next to Eema. The sauropod lowered her head to his level. "It is truly a miracle that you are alive."

"I can't believe it either," Aladar agreed. "And it's all thanks to-"

Right when he was about to complete his sentence, the cacophony of sounds the herd made when their leader came back died down in an instant. Url stopped his greeting and took his place next to his master after she called him back. Whispers were replaced along with groans. The herd even started to move back a little, which confused them even more.

The Herd's odd behavior caused the group to turn and see what caused them to get so distraught. Their answer came in the form of their familiar two-legged friend walking slowly towards them. The creature had short black hair on her head, wore a distinct short-sleeved hoodie shirt with denim shorts, black tennis shoes, and a ring choker. The other distinct feature the human had was a white cast on the lower part of her arm, which was a temporary reminder of the punishment she received from a certain member of the herd.

As she got closer, the faces of each member of the herd turned sour and distasteful. They looked away from the oncoming creature as if she were some meddlesome insect. Some even shot glares at her as she walked by.

"What is she doing here?" a young male _Styracosaurus_ snorted while staring her down.

"Come to cause trouble again?" one of the _Microceratus_ squeaked after doing a mock charge to try to scare her away. His attempt failed as she just ignored him.

Aladar and the rest of his circle noticed this behavior and quickly felt pity for the young girl. Even though she kept a straight face after she stood before her friends, she was still being bombarded by accusations for her secrecy weeks ago. Determined to end this conflict, the blue-green _Iguanodon_ stepped forward then yelled at the top of his voice.

"That's enough!" the echo of his command caused each and every single member of the herd to quiet down from the sudden outburst.

"Listen to me. Whatever negative thoughts you have about the humans here, you can forget about them. Hazel and her kind saved us all from certain destruction and gave us a home when we lost ours. None of us would be standing here if it weren't for them."

His reasoning made the prehistoric creatures look down in shame or soften their expressions. After hearing that, they began to mutter again. Most of them were nearly inaudible, but the group could pick up on phrases that spoke about the humans in Prehistoric Park keeping their word about healing Aladar.

Moments passed and their faces reflected expressions of shame and guilt for how they had treated Hazel, and by extension, everyone in the park.

"Everyone, I'm sorry for not telling you all about the Fireball. The reason why I didn't was because I didn't want to ruin my relations with any of you," Hazel apologized. Her guilt and fear within her became maxed out to eleven as she recited the confession. She looked at each and every member of the herd she worked so hard to save with sincere honesty in her eyes. "I love being part of the Herd, and am I honored to have been included into your community. However, I became too narrow-minded to see the whole picture of the coming disaster."

"I should have told you all as soon as I came back, but I didn't know how to. At the same time, I wanted you all to have good memories of the valley. It was selfish of me to keep it a secret…and I'm very sorry for doing so."

Hearing that coming from the human that put them all in danger brought clarity to the large group of dinosaurs. Now, instead of feeling angry for being endangered due to her inability to act, they felt pity. She kept quiet because she did not want to lose any of them. A few of them bowed their heads and looked down in shame.

Neera took the initiative to speak out and strode forward to join her mate. Hazel saw her do this and prepared for whatever the alpha female was going to say.

"Hazel," she proclaimed after standing next to her love. "I'm going to speak out for everyone when I say…we are sorry for how we treated you and your kind. You have shown us kindness when we pushed you away. We scorned you when you were trying to look out for us. Whatever actions you have done in the past, we forgive you for them. But can you forgive us for what we did to you?"

Hazel was speechless after getting that from the alpha female of the herd. She felt bad for keeping the meteor strike a secret, but the herd was going to forgive her? And they're saying sorry as well? To her, it looked like they were willing to trust her again, only if she forgave them for how they treated everybody.

" _I think returning Aladar to them is what's causing them to be like this…"_ she noted to herself.

Hazel then walked up to the two leaders and put her hands up. The alphas regarded this gesture and lowered their heads so that she could stroke both of them. The _Iguanodons_ both enjoyed the feeling of small hands caressing through some of the unreachable areas while watching the human before them.

"Yes. Yes I can," she told them. Hazel did not need to look around, but she felt the aura of happiness envelope the group. Some of them members even cheered for the reaction.

"You know, this valley, Prehistoric Park, is a place of second chances; whether it be through starting a new life or beginning anew in relationships," the young keeper explained to them with a hint of pride. "Also…Nigel's training me to be the leader of this place one day. He's taught me how to rescue prehistoric creatures, care for them, and handle stressful situations. Looks like I still have a lot to learn."

Aladar chuckled in response to her admission. "Yeah you sure do. You should really be more prompt when talking about life and death situations."

The audience of prehistoric creatures was once again interrupted by the arrival of a few more humans. All of them turned around to see a group of Prehistoric Park's keepers stepping towards them. They stopped a fair distance from the large group so that they could have a good view of them all. At the head of the group of 10 was Nigel, who bore a proud face for his pupil and of the herd he helped rescue.

Although the zoologist felt happy that one of his new friends was happily returned to his family, he felt a sense of sadness at seeing them together. Marcus' words of the budget crisis stung the inner recesses of his mind to no end. As much as he was emotionally distraught about the situation, he did not want to ruin this happy moment by bringing it up. Pushing that thought aside for the time being, he cleared his throat and spoke to them.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything."

Hazel shook her head after playfully rolling her eyes at him. "No. Though you should give me a warning that you're coming."

"Hazel, we've been behind you this whole time," Bob grumbled, who was at Nigel's right.

The girl looked away sheepishly at that statement. She was about to retort when she heard Aladar say something to the rest of the humans. The staff members could only hear barks and bellows coming from the ornithopod's mouth. While it was inaudible for them, Hazel could understand it perfectly. Once the leader was done speaking, she nodded then turned to face the rest of the keepers.

"Aladar says thank you for saving everyone here and for helping to look after them in his absence."

Nigel nodded his head in response and smiled up at them. "You're welcome."

Just then, Neera began to speak as well. This time, her sounds were of a higher pitch than her mate's. When her part of the speech ended, Hazel picked up with the translation.

"And Neera says thank you for saving Aladar."

The head keeper shook his head and gestured a hand over to the head veterinarian on his left. "Nah…it's Suzanne you should be thanking, along with the other vets. They were the ones who worked night and day to get you back on your feet."

In response, that dark-haired vet blushed and scratched the back of her head shyly. "Oh it was nothing. It's just what we do."

"Hey guys!" a voice called out from the top of the hill.

All of them turned their attention back only to see a frantic Marcus run down with some sort of contraption. In his left hand was what seemed to be some kind of square-shaped gray rock with holes over most of its front. To the humans, it was obviously some kind speaker that was probably meant for a 90's radio. On his right hand was a mini portable satellite dish that could have been a weapon for an old cartoon. The device was attached to the speaker with a thick, black, coiled cord.

When he stopped just a few feet from the herd and the keepers, he bent over and panted heavily from all the running.

"Marcus! Glad you could join us after ditching us a while back," Bob sarcastically chided after crossing his arms.

"Sorry, but I needed to get something," he explained then put the speaker onto the ground.

"What's that?" Hazel was the first to ask about it.

"Oh just your normal communicator dish. It's something I've been working on after we rescued you from the hospital," the engineer glanced at them then checked on the handheld satellite for anything that needed to be adjusted.

"Communicator dish?" one of the keepers wondered.

Marcus then got up and pointed it at Aladar. Instinctively, he backed up in surprise. Hazel stopped him going to his side and putting a hand on his shoulder. The sensation of her gently stroking him calmed him down.

"Don't worry, it's completely harmless," she reassured him but then faced the older employee. "What exactly does it do?"

"Well," he started after lowering the dish a little when he faced her. "It's supposed to translate the language of any prehistoric creature it's pointed to. It's just like your communicator, and it's got the same sort of circuitry. The thing is, it can only do so on that one creature. So if you want to have a conversation with a group, you're going to have to move around a lot."

"You're serious!?" head keeper Bob exclaimed, nearly losing his footing. "We can actually talk to them with that thing!?"

Marcus nodded. "Yup, but this thing is temporary until I can make communicators for everyone. They'll be just like the one Hazel had."

Those words coming from the engineer's mouth bewildered the prehistoric creatures in the area. Normally, it would be Hazel that would be translating for them, but seeing this contraption and getting word that everyone could understand each other was simply a great news indeed. Now, there would be no need for Hazel to repeat anything they say; they could just talk normally.

Aladar took a few steps forward until he was just inches from the satellite dish. He sniffed at it then let out a series of groans. While he was doing so, Marcus hurriedly pressed the on switch on the speaker and then pressed the trigger on the lower portion of the device. Almost instantly, the inaudible groans turned into words.

"You sure that thing's going to work? Looks like a regular rock that got smashed in a landslide," he asked those around him. He became surprised to hear his own voice coming from the box nearby, albeit a little scratchy due to it coming out of the speaker. Everyone took a few steps back in disbelief, including Marcus himself.

"Holy shit! It works!" he laughed and jumped in joy. A huge smile creased the engineer's face. "I'm freakin' awesome!"

"Well I'll be," Bob chuckled and rubbed his head from a possible headache coming on from the shock of the discovery. "That piece of junk actually works!"

"Hey it's not a piece of junk! My baby is pure science!" the twenty-five year old employee argued at the man nearby. "It's progress!"

"Well now that the language barrier's down for the moment," Nigel smirked and took a few steps forward until he was within a few feet from the alphas. "I think some proper introductions are in order."

Hazel grinned and then took her place in front of the herd. She faced the alphas and the rest of her friends with pride on her face. "Everyone, I'd like for you to meet the staff of Prehistoric Park."

On cue, Nigel took his place next to Hazel and introduced himself. "Hello, I'm Nigel. I'm the head of the park."

He then gestured to the three senior employees nearby, including Marcus who was still focusing on Aladar. The first he gestured to with a hand was Bob, then Suzanne, then the engineer. "And this is Bob; he's the head keeper here. Suzanne, who is our head veterinarian. And Marcus, our head engineer. We are honored to be in the presence of such magnificent creatures like yourselves."

The blue-green ornithopod cleared his throat with an 'ahem'. "The honor's all ours."

The other employees let out sounds of wonder and amazement. While some of them were eyeing the other prehistoric creatures in the group, others were looking at Hazel with sincerity and embarrassment. Those that did were the ones that doubted her ability to talk to the animals. Now that they had a way to understand them, they all gave her apologetic looks. The girl took them in stride and waved her hand in a forgiving way.

"So let me get this straight," Yar suddenly questioned from near the alphas. All of them looked down to see the elderly lemur hopping towards Marcus and then stop just before him. The young man then pointed the dish at the primate. Instantly, the chatters turned into words.

"That round stick there is what will allow you to talk to us?" saying that and hearing his own phrase from the speaker caused the lemur to gasp and jump back.

Hazel chuckled and rolled her eyes playfully. "Yes Yar, now everybody can understand you."

Nearby, Suzanne let out a breath and glanced at the head keeper next to her. She motioned her head to him and whispered in his ear. "This is going to take some time to get used to."

"You said it Suzy," the bald man agreed.

The joyous moment of discovery was then ruined by one of the Parasaurolophus trumpeting in the back of the herd. Marcus waved the communicator dish through the crowd, having trouble figuring out who was talking, but when he did, smiles turned into frowns in an instant.

"I hate to ruin this happy moment, but our home's destroyed. We're in an unknown time and some of us don't feel very comfortable here," the hadrosaur, apparently female, chided.

Sounds of agreement came from a few of the members of the herd. Aladar and Neera turned around and were about reassure them all when Hazel beat them to it.

"Everyone, while you lot are indeed in an unknown place and time, that doesn't mean your home is gone forever," she announced to them.

" _I want to show them Old Gotoma, but with the recent events that happened, I want them to recuperate first. Plus, we still need to clean up the grove if we're going to present it,"_ she noted.

"Home isn't a place or a time, but rather it is who you're with. Your friends and your family, they are your home."

Aladar looked at her with a pleased look that she was taking her first steps in becoming a leader and then to the herd. "She's right. While we are in a new place and a new time, what matters is that we're all together. We escaped destruction from the Fireball, and we all have been given a second chance."

"But what about the predators that are in this place?" a male _Struthiomimus_ from within the herd snobbishly remarked. Unfortunately, Marcus was not fast enough in catching that first phrase, but he did get the second one. To the keepers, it sounded like someone with an eloquent accent, similar to Baylene's. "The humans keep them here, so what would happen if they decide to come after us!?"

Aladar's face turned into one of deep concern. On his way to the Valley, he did not see any predators around, save for the mammals that Prehistoric Park had. He deduced that they must be on other parts of the valley that they did not pass by. He quickly turned to his friend Hazel for an answer to this problem…and to see if what they were saying was true.

"Hazel, this place has predators?" he shot a fearful look at her.

Marcus immediately pointed at the blue-green alpha and all listened in on the conversation.

"Yeah, we have predators here. But you have to believe me when I say that a number of them are quite friendly," Hazel comforted him, and the herd.

"She's right," Neera added, causing her mate to glance back at the pink female. "We've met a few of them."

She then turned to the entire herd and announced her claim. "While some of the predators in the valley must be avoided, there are those that are harmless. I have encountered them all and have deemed this valley safe."

Sounds of insecurity once again erupted from the large group of rift creatures. Aladar once again looked to Hazel if she had anything else to say on the matter. He expected her to appear nervous, but she bore a look of confidence and calm. To him, it looked like she knew what she was doing.

"Aladar, I understand if you feel uncomfortable at the thought of living with predators. But all of us here have them under control. I can even give you a tour of the park and show you that there's nothing to be afraid of."

The alpha male stared at her for a moment with slight suspicion then relented. He sighed and gave her a small smile. "Okay, I trust you. I want to see them before I make my judgement of the place."

Hazel nodded. "Great."

She then announced to the entire herd about her plans on the rest of the day. "Aladar and I are about to go on a tour around the park. Those of you who wish to join us are free to do so. I've already said this, but I'll say it again; Prehistoric Park is a sanctuary. We accept all from different points in time; predator and herbivore alike. We care for you all and we do not wish to disrupt the harmony of this valley. So if you think that we're going to feed you to the predators, or set the predators onto you, then you need to rethink that. We would never do those things."

She turned and placed a hand on his shoulder to lead him to the main part of the park. Behind them, whispers and murmers erupted at the human's proclamation. Moments later, a _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , a _Styracosaurus_ , a _Struthiomimus_ , a cerulean-colored female _Iguanodon_ , a male navy _Iguanodon_ , and a _Parasaurolophus_ female came forward to join the duo in their tour of the valley.

The keepers were amazed at the sight of one of their own speaking to the apparent sentient creatures. Before, they viewed the prehistoric creatures as nothing but animals. But now, they see them as neighbors. They watched with dumbfounded expressions as the group made their way passed them towards the park.

That is…until a series of squawks occurred from off to the western side. All of them turned to see a large, bipedal yellow and black bird coming towards them. The members of the herd scrambled out of the way of the incoming terror bird as he made his way towards the middle of the group. The nimble earthbound avian ducked and weaved through the throngs of herd members who were not as quick to get out of the way. He even jumped over a group of _Microceratus_ and onto the back of a _Pachyrhinosaurus._ The panicked dinosaur flung his crest forward in panic, which the terror bird used as a springboard to launch himself further a head of his pursuers; he landed in the middle of group of senior keepers before resuming his sprint. The keepers, along with Nigel, Bob, Suzanne, and Marcus got out of the way at the sudden appearance of the 10-foot bird.

"HI NEW FRIENDS THAT I WILL MAKE FRIENDS WITH!" he hollered as he zoomed past them. A stray tranquilizer shot through the air and was about to hit him on the neck when he suddenly veered out of the way.

"BYE NEW FRIENDS THAT I WILL MAKE FRIENDS WITH!" Espantos screamed again as he disappeared to another part of the valley.

Marcus had caught everything on his satellite dish. Everyone, except for Hazel and the rest of the group that encountered him before, watched in amazement as the _Phorusrhacos_ fled from a group of oncoming keepers with tranquilizer guns. All of them yelled various commands for Espantos to hold still or to come back to them, panting all the while from the excursion of keeping up with Espantos's 45-mph strides.

"Not again…" Hazel groaned and then let out a chuckle then yelled out to the small mob.

"Hey! If you're planning on catching that birdbrain, why don't you use a jeep rather than running!?"

One of the keepers, a young man in his late thirties with a bow-cut hairstyle, turned around to the youngest recruit and the other members of Prehistoric Park. "We would except that infernal bird messed up our jeep! He practically chewed up the tires and ripped out the pipes!"

The young man resumed his chase after giving them the explanation, leaving the dumbfounded group of keepers and herd in their wake. Hazel face palmed and rubbed her temples with her fingers.

"Uh…what was that?" Aladar leaned down at the human.

"That…was Espantos. If you guys are going to be staying here, he's the first thing you need to know about," she told him without looking at the dinosaur.

"Well…" Bob huffed and looked away incredulously. "I never thought that bird would be so…so…"

"Hyperactive?" Marcus suggested, trying to help his colleague in finishing that phrase. Apparently he had his dish still focused on the fleeing terror bird. His attempts in trying to get what the bird was saying in the distance proved to be futile and reverted to pointing it at the alpha male of the herd.

"I think hyperactive is an understatement," Nigel blatantly mentioned while he watched the keepers chase after the large avian.

The girl sighed and then led Aladar and the group of doubters from the herd and up the hill before them. "Come on guys, let me show you around the place."

The _Iguanodon_ along with the rest of the dinosaurs that decided to join in on the tour followed close behind her. All of them felt unsure about what they were about to expect as they made their way over the hill towards the place the humans called Prehistoric Park. Although a number of the members had encountered the predators there, they never really got too close to them as they were afraid of a potential attack. They walked on through the strange land towards the area that housed the creatures they learned to fear.

Little did any one of them know that they were being watched the entire time. Over at one of the hills, a certain forest green _Iguanodon_ had been watching the little reunion from afar. Nero had followed the herd to the borders as per Neera's orders. He became furious when he saw the alpha male arise from behind one of the hills.

His chances at becoming leader became void, he watched in rage as the humans interacted with the herd…HIS herd! At this point, nothing would please him more than to squish those hairless apes into bloody stains. He had heard that predators were in the valley and that they were sharing their living space with other creatures, which infuriated him even more. The thought of being in a new time with unknown creatures pissed him off.

"Enjoy your victory today…for tomorrow, you all will be bowing to me," he growled softly, referring to the herd, and by extension everyone in the park.

The burly ornithopod turned away to leave the disgusting scene. He may have lost his chance today, but his dream of becoming the leader still burned.


	18. Meet the Neighbors

Dinosaurs. A name coined by Sir Richard Owen in 1842 to classify the ancient animals of the past. The name meaning "Terrible Lizard" due to how ferocious and intimidating their fossils looked like to people.

' _If only they saw how they actually were like.'_

Hazel was leading her new skittish tour group once again through Prehistoric Park to put the doubters at ease. What should have taken a single day of park exploration turned into a 2-day outing, dragging along the fearful tagalongs that accompanied her and Aladar. They would have been finished if her tour group hadn't been so frightened by the first friendly predator on their stop.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Flashback… the day prior on the road to Deinosuchus Dip…**_

 **The prehistoric group being led by Hazel was taking in the sights as they proceeded further into the Park to meet the various Residents. Aladar was impressed by the scope of the animal reserve and was openly relaxed as he took in his surroundings. The others however, were guarded and kept judging everything they encountered. They were wary and cautious, like everything they saw would attack them. Hazel wanted to nip that thinking in the bud as soon as possible. As they continued traveling the road to visit their first friendly carnivore, Hazel decided to break the silence.**

" **Okay, so you guys got names I can call you?" The young woman awkwardly started. This was the first time Hazel talked to members of the herd that was not in her close circle of friends or a jerk, so it was a new experience for her.**

 **Being shook out of their observations, the group of doubters humored their human guide and told her their names.**

" **Name's Doru, Ms. Hazel," the** _ **Styracosaurus**_ **politely greeted. The male's tone was surprisingly polite despite being a skeptic of living in Prehistoric Park. Then again, Hazel hasn't interacted with any other Styracosaurs besides Eema, so this could have been typical for the species. Now encouraged, the others spoke up to the young keeper.**

" **Greetings human, we haven't had the pleasure. I am known as Altus." Hazel recognized the** _ **Struthiomimus's**_ **voice from the day prior as one of the outspoken complainants of the herd. By the male dinosaur's snooty voice, Hazel knew that he was going to be a hard sell.**

" **Well it's nice to meet—" Hazel was interrupted by a boisterously deep, gravelly voice.**

" **Hello little lady, I'm Sarge. The best damn Pachyrhinosaur you're ever gonna meet! And a bang up daddy to my tike, Tirech." Hazel could only gape in surprise.** _ **This**_ **red skinned borderline nutcase was sweet Tirech's dad? The youngling must have taken after his mother, because Sarge's personality was too jarring to see any relation.**

" **Silence you boob! Your tone is grating to my ears." The female** _ **Parasaurolophus**_ **, who had a surprisingly eloquent voice, scolded the unruly** _ **Pachyrhinosaurus**_ **. Sarge only chuckled.**

" **Come on Lethe, just showin' a little patriotism for my race and some pride for my hatchling." He gently hip-bumped the hadrosaur, who stumbled at the surprise contact. Gracefully picking herself up, Lethe the** _ **Parasaurolophus**_ **up turned her nose at the unrefined Ceratopsian.**

" **Be that as it may, you could show a little class Sarge. Like myself and my daughter Charon." Sarge's only response was a disgustingly loud belch and a chuckle at his "impressive feat". As Lethe showed her disgust and scolded the vulgar Ceratopsian, Hazel realized that Lethe was the hadrosaur that also spoke out against living here as well. The human would also have to convince Charon's mother of the safety of the Park.**

 **The prehistoric group was chuckling at the antics of Sarge and Lethe. They knew that despite their differing personalities, they were actually good friends. As Hazel was giggling at Sarge's attempt to claim that belches were classy, the young keeper was nudged softly by the cerulean** _ **Iguanodon**_ **female. Unlike the many other herd members who gave her cautious and angered looks, including her current tour group, the female gave Hazel a soft smile that reflected her kindness.**

" **Hello Hazel. We haven't been properly introduced." The female had a kind voice that reminded her of her mother's voice when she was younger. "I'm Naomi, and this my mate Embo," she gestured to the navy colored male striding next to her. In contrast to Naomi's feminine form, Embo was a dark colored male with grey stripes running along his back and a single dulled nose horn. He was slightly more muscular than Aladar, but not as bulky as Nero. Embo was silently walking by Naomi. When she introduced his name, he politely smiled in Hazel direction. The couple was very close from what Hazel could tell.**

" **Nice to meet you, Naomi. Embo." The Asian girl nodded to the prehistoric pair, which gained her a smile from the cerulean dinosaur.**

" **It really is an honor Hazel. Without you and your friends, we wouldn't have gotten our little boys that you saved." Despite Naomi's gratitude, the human scrunched up her face in confusion. When in the past has she saved boys for this couple? Aladar chose this moment to interject.**

" **Naomi and Embo met up with us a year ago, shortly after you left actually. They both adopted the two younglings that Neera took care of a year ago." The Alpha male informed. Hazel's eyes widened in realization. She couldn't believe she forgot about the two juveniles that traveled with them in the last migration.**

" **Oh my gosh! It's been so long since then. How are those two boys?" Hazel's question made the couple smile at the mention of their adopted sons.**

" **Well I'll admit, they were a handful at first," Embo chuckled in good nature, "but I wouldn't have it any other way." The young keeper smiled. The pair was good parents from what she could tell.**

" **Those boys couldn't have better parents even if they tried." Naomi and Embo blushed at the praise she gave.**

" **That's kind of why we chose to look around," Naomi revealed her intention of their desire to tour with Hazel. "We wanted to see how safe this 'Prehistoric Park' was for our children before we make any decisions."**

 **With a clear idea of why most of the group chose to come, she realized that these weren't disgruntled doubters; at least the majority, Altus seemed to be spot on in Hazel's assumption. They were concerned parents that wanted their children to be safe. With that in mind, Hazel vowed to try to show the best of the Park's Residents so that the parents can be put at ease.**

 **Entering the familiar territory, Hazel could see all of Prehistoric Park's Nile Crocodiles on the shore of the lake. Each crocodilian was situated all along the grainy sand with a large sand dune that they seem to crowd away from. Regardless of that fact, small birds were flittering and flying along the crocodiles' mouths to clean their teeth. She seemed to time her arrival just right since they only sun themselves after being fed. She courageously strode towards the group of crocodilians, much to the apparent fear of her group.**

" **Why are you walking up to those carnivores?! Are you out of your mind?!" Lethe shrieked, fully expecting the human girl to get torn to pieces. Hazel turned her head slightly to the hadrosaur as she continued nearing the carnivores.**

" **Don't worry Lethe. These fellas know not to mess with me," she said. As soon as she neared a basking crocodile, it immediately moved away along with the majority of the amphibious reptiles. The group could only gawk at the unusual behavior of these predators as they followed cautiously.**

" **How in Sam-Hell are you doin' that?" Sarge asked in confusion as another Nile crocodile scrambled away from Hazel's path.**

" **Like I said, they don't mess with me. They know better than to upset my friend that lives in this enclosure." The human girl made her way around the large sand dune, having a good idea of who was on the other side.**

" **Hazel, are these the Residents of this enclosure?" Aladar asked as he caught up with the keeper.**

" **No, they're from the present. We just put the Resident here to make him more comfortable."**

" **Who on earth could be comfortable around all of these monsters?" Altus snootily asked. Hazel was the first to get around the sand mound as she grinned. She found him.**

" **My friend."**

 **As the group made their way around the dune, they were greeted with a startling sight. Lying lazily in the sand was Prehistoric Park's 40-foot long** _ **Deinosuchus**_ **. His black, scarred scales reflected the sun, the glint displaying his impressive rows of his the numerous armored scales. He was apparently taking a nap, soaking in the sun's rays to help with digesting his breakfast as all crocodiles do. While the group was gasping in fear, Hazel smiled and walked up to greet her friend.**

" **Irwin! How's it going?" The giant croc cracked open his eyes and lazily grinned at her. She counted herself fortunate that she caught Irwin after his meal; that would mean that he would be a bit sluggish and less prone to his mischievous actions.**

" **G'day Sheila. Just finished my meal and sleeping it off. Who're ya new friends?" Irwin barely concealed a yawn. His yawn was more akin to the hissing of a crocodile. This put Hazel's group on edge at the terrifying sound, but Hazel herself didn't notice since in her mind, Irwin's actions were just him releasing his excess heat in his body; his post-meal sunbathing was the safest for anyone to be around him.**

" **I'm just showing a new group around who are having trouble adjusting to Park life. I decided to give them a tour like I did with Neera, Flia, and the kids." She answered, surprising her group in the fact that she was having a casual conversation with a predator that could literally swallow her in one bite.**

" **Ha! Are you charging by the hour?"**

 **Hazel smirked, rolling her eyes in good nature. "Bite me, lizard."**

" **Don't tempt me. HAHAHA!" The adults cringed back at the volume of Irwin's chortles. After recovering, the prehistoric predator eyed Hazel's new companions. They were naturally afraid of being in his presence, but that's to be expected with newcomers meeting a 40-long carnivore. He distinctly recalled Hazel screaming in fear when he first met her; she was so shrill! As he was taking in the appearance of the group, he subconsciously tapped into his "ambush predator instincts" to analyze and deduce what each dinosaur behaved like. While they all had a tinge of fear, the one who was the least frightened was the sea-blue male.**

" **You must be that Aladar bloke. You're the leader of that new herd in the valley right?"**

" **How did you figure that?" Aladar questioned, a bit on the defensive of being spotted by the giant crocodile. Irwin's grin widened in pride of guessing correctly.**

" **You look the least threatened by me, while your underlings are backing up behind you." The** _ **Deinosuchus**_ **chuckled. In his lethargic state, his good-natured laugh came off more menacing than he intended. "I admire bravery in a species, and you got a lot of it. For a Land-Walker at least." Aladar was flattered by Irwin's compliment, yet it felt surreal that he was just complimented by a clearly powerful predator. Irwin shifted his gaze to the other herd members to give his off handed analysis.**

" **Hmm… Spike-Head follower." Doru flinched slightly when he simply described him.**

" **Family friends to the leader." Naomi and Embo widened their eyes in surprise. Although it was correct, they couldn't help but feel that tinge of fear of being observed by a carnivore.**

 **His sights landed on Sarge and he just snorted dismissively, "Thick-skulled idiot."**

" **Hey! What did you say dirt-bag?!"**

" **Moving on…" Irwin's sight caught the form of Lethe, who was holding back a snort of amusement. "Doting, stuck up, mother goose." The mother** _ **Parasaurolophus**_ **sputtered in indignation at Irwin's unappealing description of her. The** _ **Deinosuchus**_ **gained a pondering look.**

 **"Crikey, it's been ages since I hunted _Parasaurolophus_. Your daughter looks like you by the way." Irwin offhandedly said.**

" **Wait, WHAT!" Lethe cried out, back away in fright from he said.**

' _ **Aw crap. This is not good!**_ **' Hazel inwardly thought.  
**

 **Due to his post-breakfast fatigue, the crocodilian Resident tended to spout whatever came to his mind; even his past exploits as a predator. The first time Hazel witnessed it, Irwin rambled on about how to perfectly stalk prey from the water and how long it took to hold his victims under water until they drowned. While it was intriguing at the time, it was very inappropriate for the girl's skittish group. The young keeper tried to salvage this encounter by moving the tour group along.**

 **"Okay! I think we should get moving—" Unfortunately Irwin didn't catch on to Hazel's distress as he made his last assessment of the final herd member.**

" **And you're the guy who dies first." Irwin's blunt commenting caused Altus the Struthiomimus to sputter in surprise.**

" **I beg your pardon, beast?!" Never in all his life has Altus been insulted so openly.**

" **Yeah, guys like you have that 'better than you' type of attitude if your speech and the way you carry yourself is anything to go by." Irwin shrugged nonchalantly. His attention was so lax that he didn't notice Hazel mouthing to him to shut up.**

" **All of that attitude and your fancy words means squat if you can't back it up." Irwin said. The titanic reptile released another hissing-yawn that deeply rumbled at everyone's core. Altus was now beyond outraged. Before Hazel could figure out how many boots she could make after making the crocodile shut up, Irwin decided to end their conversation; much to Hazel's relief.**

" **Well anyways, welcome to Prehistoric Park mates. I'm sure that you lot will love it here." The** _ **Deinosuchus**_ **shifted his head away to resume his post-meal sunbathing. "Now if you'll excuse me, I got a dentist appointment." Irwin called out to a tiny blue and grey bird finishing up pecking at a Nile crocodile's maw. "Oi Colgate! I'm ready for my check up now!" The tiny bird perked up at the call of her name.**

" **Okay mister Irwin sir." She chirps to her colleagues in the area. "Come on girls! Time to get to work." Colgate and her "dental assistants" flew over and congregated at a nearby rock.**

 **While the birds spoke in perfect English for the dinosaurs and the prehistoric crocodilian, Hazel only heard chirps and tweets coming from the avians. The communicator that Nigel made for her only had the capacity for prehistoric animals. The young keeper did not know why her mentor could not add the feature for present day animals, but she did recall that he mentioned something about the circuitry and obtaining the correct frequency. He told her that a few months ago, and if memory served her, she recalled him saying it was difficult for him to do so.**

 **Altus, who was still incensed at Irwin's insult, marched up to the basking** _ **Deinosuchus's**_ **face to give him a piece of his mind.**

" **See here you brute! I will not stand here and be insulted by the likes of you—!" Whatever Altus was going to say would remain a mystery. Because Irwin, who either didn't hear the indignant bird mimic's verbal lashing or simply didn't care, opened his maw to release a large yawn he was keeping at bay. To Hazel, it was just the action of a crocodilian opening its mouth to release their excess body heat, Irwin being no exception. To the timid followers of Aladar, it sounded like a primal roar, which assaulted the ears of the young woman's tour group. The only reason Aladar didn't bolt on the spot was because he caught a glimpse of his human friend giving the 40-foot carnivore an eye roll. The Alpha male's followers however, panicked. They let out startled cries and hastily ran away in the opposite direction from the "savage killer". Altus, being in the forefront of Irwin's fatigued yawn/roar, fainted and collapsed on the spot.**

" **Oh great, thanks a lot you overgrown boot!" The Asian girl growled to the ancient croc.**

" **Do'oh menhen et. (Don't mention it.)" Irwin mouthed tiredly as Colgate and her flock picked his massive teeth clean. His voice was muffled due to having a multitude of birds tending to his mouth.**

 **Already feeling a migraine coming on, Hazel gestured Aladar to come over to her to help with the fainted** _ **Struthiomimus**_ **. The** _ **Iguanodon**_ **recognized her intentions and lowered himself so that she could hoist the purple and blue runner onto his back. The ornithopod saw her strained effort in trying to get the 330 lb bird mimic up and helped her out by supporting the front of his anterior. With Altus now secured, Aladar got back up and watched the little human rush after the panicked tour group.**

" **Come on guys, Irwin's a nice guy! We just caught him during a nap! GET BACK HERE!"**

 **As Hazel pursued the panicked group, Aladar turned away from the amusing sight and focused on the** _ **Deinosuchus,**_ **who was relaxing under Colgate's meticulous treatment.**

" **Um… It's nice meeting you Irwin." The young Alpha awkwardly greeted.**

" **Ooh tooh ma'ah! (You too mate!)" Irwin was immediately met with a sharp peck in between his eyes, courtesy of Colgate. Although his scales were impervious to most things, Colgate's tiny beak managed to peck between his scales and hit a spot that made him feel her brief sting of pain.**

" **Mister Irwin! Please refrain from moving or else we'll never get this done!"**

 **It was then Aladar became more at ease as her watched the comical sight of a 40-foot ambush predator getting scolded by an 8-inch tall bird. He chuckled slightly to himself as he ran off to pursue Hazel, who was chasing after his fleeing followers. The leader's brief encounter with Irwin showed him that maybe not all carnivores are so bad. He vowed to keep an open mind as they visit more Park Residents.**

 _ **Flashback End….**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Present day… At the** _ **Therizinosaurus**_ **enclosure.**

After chasing down the skittish dinosaurs, Hazel had to consciously wind her tour through the park to more of the less threatening looking Resident to avoid another group panic attack. Although it was understandable, it was so tedious to avoid every encounter that _might_ set them off again. Hazel showed them Theo and Ellie, the _Ornithumimus_ , the Bug House, and even the baby _Protoceratops_ quadruplets, but because of her decision to take the long way to avoid the predators, it ate up their time and forced Hazel to extend her tour to the next day. It was annoying to the Asian girl, but it did give Hazel the chance to get her tour group used of her presence and relax around her instead of being dismissed entirely.

After Aladar telling them to basically "man up", Hazel proceeded to guide her tour group to the enclosures that they skipped on their first outing. The human girl turned to the group as they neared the Residents of the enclosure.

"Well, after yesterday's… _interesting_ events, we'll continue where we left off." She clears her throat to introduce the "Scythe Lizard" dinosaurs. "In this enclosure resides a group of four dinosaurs we rescued a while ago. They're named _Therizinosaurus."_

"What in the world is a 'Their-a-what's-it'?" Doru asked, as the group moved closer to the enclosure's fence line, feeling safer with the wood barricade protecting them from the potential threat.

"' _Therizinosaurus',_ Doru. They are Cretaceous period theropods. We rescued them from Mongolia… er… ' _A desert/forest area'."_ Hazel had to remind herself that present day names of countries held no meaning to her prehistoric group. "They are related to carnivores, but for some odd reason, they are herbivores." The group relaxed after hearing that the Residents of the enclosure wouldn't eat them.

"So, where are they?" Naomi questioned as she scanned the inside of the habitat.

"Well, they recently finished their mating season, so I'm not sure if it's the same leader. Give me a sec and I'll call him over." Hazel's dinosaur group nodded in understanding, knowing the ins and outs of how mating seasons generally work; including the fights for dominance against rival males.

Cupping her hand around her mouth, she called out to the leader of the enclosure. "Bruno! Where are you? Did you get your tail handed to you by Dankana?" Her response was a nasally shriek from inside the foliage.

"BRUNO IS THE BEST FIGHTER THERE IS! BRUNO IS CHIEF!" Parting the thick leaves of the habitat's jungle was a MASSIVELY clawed hand attached to an obscenely long 12-ft. arm, topped with 4-ft. long razor sharp talons. It would have been an intimidating sight, if the clawed appendages weren't attached to the comical, long necked, potbellied form of a _Therizinosaurus_ male. The group tried not to laugh at the bizarre creature in front of them. Sarge however, let loose an unrestrained chortle.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! What the heck are you supposed to be?" Sarge was gasping for breath at the hilarious form of Bruno. "Did yer family play tug-o-war with yer arms and stretched ya too far?" He was so caught up in his own laughter that he didn't notice the herbivorous theropod narrowing his eyes in rage as he stalked closer to the wood fencing. Hazel gestured for her companions to back up from the approaching Scythe Lizard. They all complied with her gesture, with the exception of Sarge. The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ just continued to laugh.

"AHAHAHA— _HOLY CRAP_!" The _Pachyrhinosaurus_ narrowly dodged Bruno's attempt to spear him through the gaps in the fence line, his lethal scythes only mere _inches_ from Sarge's eyes. The force of the Chief _Therizinosaurus_ strike caused some of the wood beams of the fence to explode outwards, breaking some of them in half. Wood splinters breaking off of the fence peppered the tour group and caused them to scramble back in fear. Luckily the fence held, and protected them (namely Sarge) from facing Bruno's wrath. Sensing the breach, the Perimeter Collar discharged its electrical payload. Bruno merely grunted as he stepped back, waving his clawed hand to alleviate the pain. He focused back at the once boisterous Ceratopsian.

"Bruno's family loved Bruno lots! Stubby-nose better take back it's insult or else Bruno will SPEAR YOU!" The Chief hissed, splaying out his talons menacingly to emphasize his threat. In order to avoid further hostilities, Aladar and Hazel stepped in.

"Easy Bruno, Sarge didn't mean what he said. Didn't you Sarge?" Aladar eyed his subordinate, channeling his authority slightly in his tone of voice. The frightened Ceratopsian shook his head furiously.

"NOPE! Didn't mean a thing!"

Hazel turned towards Bruno and adopted a tone of voice akin to a mother scolding a child.

"And Bruno, what have I told you? Use your words and talk about how it hurt your feelings. And if someone gets you mad?" As Hazel went up to the fence to inspect Bruno's form for any injuries, she left her question hanging for the Chief to finish.

"… Don't spear them and tell Keeper Hazel."

"That's right Bruno. Keeper Hazel will care for Bruno and Bruno's Tribe." As she sated the temperamental Chief, her companions witnessed Hazel stroking one of Bruno's lethal claws through the barricade. The human girl was gently picking out small splinters lodged in Bruno's hand as she continued to scold him, with the herbivorous theropod looking shame faced all the while.

"Bruno here is a bit sensitive when it comes to insults to his Tribe, so I'd be careful next time you talk to him Sarge." With the last splinter picked out of his claw, Bruno gave Hazel an appreciative nod. The Chief apologized to the stunned dinosaur tourists for his anger, and slowly trudged off to find the rest of his Tribe. They were amazed how quickly the miniscule human handled the potentially deadly situation. Aladar and his group trailed after the young keeper, more interested to see the sights; after Lethe disciplined a certain Ceratopsian for being rude to others.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Later at** _ **Big Cat Climb**_ **….**

The next enclosure was more man made than a natural habitat that fenced off a portion of the environment. It appeared to have two habitats built next to each other. One being larger and more fitting for bigger creatures, the other looked more like a children's playground with colorful toys strewn around the grassy ground. There were structures that were made of logs that crossed each other from the ground up on the larger habitat, and smaller habitat had a plastic toddler playground set to simulate a similar experience of the climbing logs. While it puzzled the Cretaceous herd members, Hazel knew that those structures were the Residents' form of enrichment. Before the Asian woman could introduce the inhabitants of the enclosure, a feminine, silky smooth voice spoke out of nowhere.

"My, my, what do we have here?" At the top of the tall climbing structure was Prehistoric Park's female _Smilodon_. She was casually resting on the support beams of her climbing structure, eyeing Hazel and her group like a house cat eyeing a canary.

"Just another tour group Sabrina," said Hazel, who was on guard, but optimistically hopeful that she caught the Saber-cat in one of her better moods. The tan-furred predator gave the human an airy laugh, her tone seemingly kind but with the under tones of her predator heritage.

"You seem to be quite the popular girl if you travel with so many entourages, Little Cub." The prehistoric feline snickered as she nimbly made her way to ground level. Hazel just huffed in irritation; she hated the mega-fauna hunter constantly teasing her. However, Hazel knew better than to say that to the 900-lb Saber-cat's face.

"Where's the old 'Ball-n-Chain', Grumpy Cat?" It was Sabrina's turn to huff in annoyance. She HATED that stupid Internet cat!

"César is only around when I fancy and right now, I don't fancy." The Pleistocene carnivore giggled as she padded up to her enclosure's fence. "Aren't you going to introduce your friends Little Cub?" Shifting her stance, Hazel gestured with her right hand her prehistoric tour group.

"Guys, this is Sabrina. Her species is known as a _Smilodon,_ or more commonly referred to as a 'Saber-tooth Cat'. Sabrina, these are some members of the herd living at the Valley sector. The blue _Iguanodon_ beside me is Aladar. He's the leader of the herd in the valley. " Hazel gestured to her friend.

Sabrina simply looked over the 30-foot long Alpha male and nodded, "Charmed."

"The lime-green _Parasaurolophus's_ name is Lethe. The ostrich looking guy is Altus." Hazel leaned forward to whisper conspiringly to the Big Cat, "Between you and me, he could use a little 'Saber-feline persuasion' to knock him off his high horse."

"Oh really?" The _Smilodon_ gave the uppity _Struthiomimus_ a Cheshire-like grin, which unsettled Altus, despite being on the safer side of the mega-feline's fence. The young keeper continued on with her introductions.

"The crested guys with the spikes and nob-nose are Doru and Sarge." The two Ceratopsians shifted slightly under Sabrina's naturally predatory gaze. Despite the mammal being smaller than them, they couldn't help but to be cautious of the female.

"Hello boys! Don't be shy. I don't bite… _Hard_." The two male just awkwardly chuckled, not knowing a hundred percent if Sabrina was joking. She gently smiled to them, displaying her 8-inch serrated canines. Hazel just shook her head in slight exasperation at Sabrina's obvious scare tactics. Although, she was generally polite to Hazel, the human girl always had to have her guard up just in case the Saber-cat had one of her moods.

"Last but not least are Naomi and Embo, the other two _Iguanodons_." Despite her obvious discomfort, Naomi moved forward to greet small, yet intimidating _Smilodon_.

"H-Hello Sabrina. I'm Naomi and this is Embo." As the cerulean ornithischian spoke, Sabrina appraised the two dinosaurs. With her predatory instincts, the Saber-tooth Cat quickly deduced the familial bond the couple shared. Their closeness and obvious happiness made Sabrina briefly recall her own past. Before giving birth to the younger cubs of Prehistoric Park, before César became her mate. Just her, her previous mate, and her little cub against prehistoric South America… With only Sabrina being the last one standing. Unnoticed by Hazel's tour group, the Saber-Cat subtly blinked back tears from her eyes. Hazel noticed this and despite having a feeling of what's going through the Big Cat's mind, she held her tongue for the sake of Sabrina.

"Am I correct to assume that dear Embo is your mate Naomi?" Sabrina asked, her face adorning a genuine smile as opposed to her previous femme fatale grins.

"H-How did you—?"

"It's quite alright, dear," Sabrina giggled, "I too have that accessory." Turning her head to the side, she called out to her own mate.

"CÉSAR! Come out here to greet the neighbors!" Sabrina roared, making the tour group slightly jump at the sudden volume of the _Smilodon._ A distinct masculine groan could be heard coming from a small overhanging structure, a little man-made den. Coming out was the male _Smilodon_ Resident, César, who was waking up from his "catnap". His physique was slightly more muscled than Sabrina's, with him having broader shoulders and legs, along with 10-inch long deadly canines. Despite his physical advantages, César knew better than to assume that he was the dominant one of his relationship. That title belonged to his aggressive mate, Sabrina. It was a miracle that the younger male was still alive despite their meeting having a rocky start.

The male _Smilodon_ did a cat-like stretch as he blearily opened his eyes and took in the forms of their visitors.

"Another entourage, human? You sure are a popular female, Cub. If you keep it up, people are gonna talk." César comment made Hazel's eye twitch in irritation.

"IT'S. A. TOUR GROUP!" The Asian screeched at the Pleistocene predator. "The way you two are throwing around that word makes me sound like a trashy pimp or something!"

To her annoyance, César just shrugged as he approached the prehistoric group. "Eh, I won't judge. New times, new ways of thinking."

"Now, now César," Sabrina giggled into her paw, "Let's not get dear Hazel all frazzled. She'll die of embarrassment if we persist, and I wouldn't want that to happen to the Little Cub." It was time like these that made the human girl curse her ability to understand animals; she heard from these two were teases and criticisms!

"Anyways… César, these are the newest Residents of Prehistoric Park." After introducing the group to the Male feline, César critically gazed at Altus.

"Hey, I know your kind!" César's singling out of the ostrich-mimic caught the whole group off guard.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Yeah, a bunch of hooligans that looked like you broke into our enclosure at night a few days ago." The male accused. "Had to chase off those damn bird guys, they had the gall to peck at the grass of my favorite napping area!"

"Damn it César! What did you do? You didn't kill them did you?" Hazel said as she scanned the enclosure for any mutilated bodies.

"Of course not!" The male predator scoffed in indignation, "Though, I DID take a few chunks out of their tails as they turn-tailed when I scared them off."

"YOU DID WHAT TO MY KIND!" Altus shouted at the _Smilodon's_ admission of violence.

"What the heck?! César!" Why did the predatory Residents make her life so hard?

César just turn toward the young Filipino woman to defend himself. "What? They aren't dead. What would you do if you found a group of strangers breaking into your home in the middle of the night? I merely did what you humans did and stood my ground! Do you have a problem with that?"

Hazel groaned in irritation. "You realize that anyone who actually uses that excuse is most likely the one who's the bad guy."

"Semantics!"

"Quiet." At Sabrina's softly spoken word, César immediately clammed up. The female Big Cat didn't need to raise her tone to voice her displeasure; the undertones of her anger seeped through that one word.

"You will apologize to the Altus-bird for your actions, _Dear."_ Her emphasis on the last word made Hazel think that Sabrina had a more insulting word she wanted say to her hot-headed mate.

"R-Right Sabrina. Sorry for my actions Altus. What I did was out of line. Could you relay that for me to those hooligans— I mean, bird-guys for me?" César's shaky apology was accepted by an equally stunned Altus, who was slightly shaking at Sabrina's threat of reprisal, even though it wasn't directed at him.

"Well then," Sabrina started, her tone doing a complete 180, "Welcome, Aladar and friends, to the Park! I hope we are good neighbors in the future."

"Nice meeting you guys! Don't be a stranger." César greeted them cordially and padded off to resume his napping. Sighing, Hazel urged her group to the habitat next to the Saber-Cats, hoping to salvage something good from this encounter.

"Hazel."

At the soft sound of Sabrina's voice, the girl, and consequently her tour group, stopped to look one more time at the Big Cat. Sabrina had a more timid stance than before with a slight frown marring her features.

"If you don't mind. Can you— Can you tell Suzanne's Cubs to keep down their noise? It disturbs my beauty sleep." Even though Sabrina had regained her confident swagger, Hazel easily understood the hidden meaning of the female _Smilodon_.

"Of course, Grumpy Cat. I'll take care of it." Hazel said, her previous nickname not holding any sassiness that it had before. Deciding to let it slide, Sabrina regained her air of superiority and, with her nose upturned, climbed back up her climbing logs to her high platform to lie on her refuge. With a look of sympathy, she walked off to the neighboring enclosure, her prehistoric companions following suit.

"What in Sam-Hell was that?" Sarge asked their human guide, confused about the tonal shift of the feline femme fatale.

"I'll tell you guys in a bit. Just follow me to meet the other two Cats we have here."

"Are they as… _engaging_ as Sabrina and César?" Aladar questioned. Asking so he could mentally prepare himself, just in case.

"No, they are leagues better in personality when compared to Sabrina and César. But if you want to get technical, then yeah, they are technically engaging." Finally reaching the gates of the second enclosure, Hazel dug into her pocket to find the proper key to unlock the door. As she was fiddling with the lock, Lethe spoke up to voice what was bothering her.

"Your human friend keeps her younglings in a cage?"

"What?" Hazel was caught flatfooted by the seemingly out of place question before she recalled her prior conversation with Sabrina. "Oh. OH! No, no, you got it wrong Lethe. Suzanne doesn't have any kids. If she did, she would certainly NOT put them in cages."

"Then what did that Sabrina female mean?" Lethe asked in confusion.

Sighing, Hazel decided to clear up any confusion regarding Sabrina's complicated family. "You see guys, the Residents we're going to meet is actually Sabrina's cubs."

"Then why did she say it was your human friend's children?" Embo questioned.

"Lets just say Sabrina has had a… _difficult_ time raising kids. When we rescued her, Sabrina somehow stopped being able to produce milk for her young." Hazel paused and looked questioningly at the group of dinosaurs. "Um… do you guys know the differences on how mammals care—?"

"Yeah Hazel. Me and the Herd are familiar with mammals nurturing their younglings." Aladar interjected, knowing that young mammals drank milk from their mothers. He was raised among lemurs and knew full well how they raised their children. So, naturally, when the herd asked him how things worked with that species, he answered all of their questions.

"Ah, okay." Hazel nodded. "Anyways, when Sabrina gave birth, my friend Suzanne had to care for the Cubs in Sabrina's stead. So technically speaking, Tai and Sable are Suzanne's cubs."

Doru arched an eye-ridge. "'Tai and Sable'?"

"The names for the cubs." Hazel swiftly answered, finally finding the key to unlock the padlock to the Cubs' habitat. As the young woman unlocked the door, Naomi gained a look of pity as she looked towards Hazel.

"Doesn't Sabrina even _want_ to get to know her younglings?" At this, Hazel paused slightly and considered her words.

"Officially, Sabrina told me she wanted nothing to do with them. She said that since Suzanne is caring for them that she wouldn't need to waste her time doting on them."

"Hmph! That Sabrina sounds like a piece of work if she doesn't care for her kids." Many of the group nodded at Sarge's blunt statement. Hazel shook her head in disagreement.

"Unofficially though," Hazel started, her tone gaining a bit of sympathy for the Saber-Cat, "I think she keeps her distance out of fear." Her new friends looked at her in puzzlement.

"Fear? What does a predator have to fear?" Altus piped up.

"Before we rescued Sabrina she already had a Cub of her own." Hazel shifted her sights downward in sadness. "She was struggling to find food for herself to produce milk for her cub. When Nigel and his friend Sabba Hamilton managed to get to them for transport, it was too late for Sabrina's cub. It died in starvation." Her audience was stunned at the revelation that their guide told.

"I arrived at the park some time after that. At that point in time, I didn't receive my Communicator yet, but even I could tell Sabrina was pretty torn up about it. I sometimes catch her just watching her cubs in the distance when Suzanne comes to take care of them." Hazel sighed as she looked up at the group. "She probably _does_ love them, Sabrina most likely feels that she doesn't deserve to be in Tai and Sable's lives after what happened. She's just too afraid of losing them like she lost her previous cub."

Many of the tour group gained solemn looks of sadness for the Holocene predator. Naomi was hit the hardest, with her crying into her mate's shoulder. She couldn't imagine going through the plight that Sabrina went through, losing her younglings to starvation; it was too much for her heart to bear. Wanting to alleviate the somber atmosphere, Hazel pepped up her tone.

"Come on guys. Tai and Sable should be inside. They love meeting new people, just like a certain little pachyderm that spirits away your daughters, Aladar." The group all chuckled at the thought of the elephant calf Mikiya and her youthful antics that she manages to pull off with Aladar's younglings. Satisfied that their moods have been lifted, the young woman led her companions inside.

While Sabrina and César's enclosure had a more put together and official looking zoo enclosure look, Sable and Tai's enclosure looked more akin to a preschooler's playground. Various toys were strewn around the floor, ranging from colorful balls to stuffed animals and durable dog toys. To get their climbing exercise in, there was a plastic kiddy playground set with multiple platforms and a slide as opposed to climbing logs. It was smaller and a lot safer for the cubs than risking them hurting themselves on the climbing logs. As Hazel walked into the enclosure, she noticed two small furry figures trying to hide themselves underneath the plastic playground slide, giggling quietly to themselves. The human girl just cracked a smile as she held up a figure to her lips to tell her group to be quiet. Hazel then gained a pseudo-pondering look on her face.

"Hmm. I wonder where Tai and Sable are?" The two cubs tried to stifle their giggles, believing they still had the element of surprise to get the drop on their "Auntie Hazel". "Are they invisible? Tai! Sable! Where are you?" She turned her head in random directions, pretending to look around for the two cubs. As she passed by their hiding place, the cubs peaked their heads out from under their slide. Exaggeratingly shrugging her shoulders, Hazel let out a faux defeated sigh.

"Oh well! Since they're not here, looks like we have to get going then."

"SNEAK ATTACK!" Bursting out of their hiding place, Tai and Sable rushed to tackle their "unsuspecting aunt". Since they were only cubs, their strength was barely able to topple over anything that outweighed them, including a 20-year old young woman. Playing along, Hazel feigned surprise and fell over at Tai and Sable's "surprise attack".

"Oh no!" Hazel playfully cried as she carefully collapsed on the ground, "The brother sister duo Tai and Sable got the drop on me again! Oh I am defeated!" The Asian girl dramatically said, as she plucked up one of Sable's toys of stuffed cartoony flower, "Goodbye cruel world! Bleh…" Hazel then overdramatically feigned her "demise" as she closed her eyes with her tongue sticking out, the stuffed toy flower in her hands to show the human girl "pushing up daisies".

"Auntie Hazel?" mewed little Sable in childish concern.

"Are you okay?" Her brother, Tai, asked equally in concern as he pawed at Hazel's prone form. After a few beats, Hazel's eyes shot wide open as her face let loose a wide smile.

"Gotcha!" Hazel sudden shot forward from her "death" startled the young Saber-Cats, causing them to fall on their backs as they yelped in surprise. The Cubs' adopted aunt proceeded to tickle the two siblings' tummies, making Tai and Sable gasping for breath in laughter due to Hazel's tickling ministrations. "Haha! Looks like I got the drop on you two after all!"

"HEHEHEHE! ST-STOP IT AUNTIE HA-HAZEL!" Sable gasped as her paws flailed in the air in her bouts of laughter.

"PL-PLEA-HEHE-SE! NO MORE! HAHAHA!" Tai was just as equally troubled in breath as his sister as he begged his human aunt to cease her tickling fingers.

"Hmm… I don't know…" Hazel pretended to ponder, not letting up her torturous tickles, "Tell me who your favorite aunt is, then I'll stop."

"Y-YOU'RE OUR FAVORITE AUNT!" The siblings managed stuttered in unison through their laughter.

"What is that? I can't quite hear you guys?"

"AUNTIE HA-HA-HAZEL IS OUR FA-HA-VORITE AUNTIE!" After considering their answer for a few seconds, Hazel nodded at the two giggling cubs.

"Okay, I guess you two are off the hook _this time."_ As Hazel stopped her tickling, she scooped up the year old cubs in her arms; them being still light enough for her to manage to do that. As the cubs' giggles shifted from being tickled to the enjoyment of being carried, Aladar and company couldn't help but crack a smile at the joyful scene unfolding before them. Even though Tai and Sable were obvious predators, they were still at their heart, children. As the Cubs' merriment finally subsided, the two siblings eyed their additional visitors that came with their favorite human.

"Auntie Hazel, who are these grown ups?" The siblings struggled out of her grasp, landed on their feet, and rushed over to the odd looking creatures. Catching up to the little Cats, Hazel introduced her tour group.

"Kids, these are some new Residents living in the Valley." After introducing the group to the Saber-Kittens, the young siblings practically bounced around at the new and interesting prehistoric creatures. They loved the fact that they had the chance to make friends with their Auntie Hazel's adult friends.

"Hi new Residents! He's Tai," Sable said as she named her brother.

"She's Sable." Tai finished his sister's train of thought. The siblings pressed themselves together with wide smiles, showing their small baby saber teeth.

"We're Twins!" The two announced simultaneously. Hazel, Naomi, and Lethe couldn't help but internally squee at the adorable sight. After the group playing with the kittens for a time, Hazel had to proceed with her tour; much to the reluctance of the sibling _Smilodons_.

"Okay you two, take care! I got to show them the rest of the other Residents. Oh, and Sabrina told me for you two to keep down your noise at night." The twin Holocene cubs just huffed in exasperation.

"Sabrina always wants us to quiet down." Tai grumbled. His sister nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! Why can't we live with Mommy Suzanne?" As Sable whined, once again asking why they couldn't live with the senior veterinarian, Hazel bit her lip in sympathy. It always broke her heart when the Cubs never identified with their biological mother, Sabrina. However, she could never break Sable and Tai's views of the world and tell them that Suzanne wasn't actually their mother. Crouching on one knee, Hazel lifted both Cubs' chins to address them properly.

"Sabrina may be grouchy at times, but she is a grown up Saber-Cat. You two should listen to her. Her being experienced and all." Even though they didn't personally believe Hazel's claim, they nodded and padded off after they welcomed her tour group to Prehistoric Park. Somberly exiting the young Saber-Cats' habitat, the human keeper led her group to the next enclosure of Residents. Walking beside her was Naomi, who was still reflecting on the Cubs and Sabrina's situation.

"The fact that Sable and Tai don't recognize Sabrina and César as their parents is sad." Patting the mother _Iguanodon's_ neck, Hazel tried to lift her spirits.

"Don't worry Naomi. It might not be today, but I have hope that Sabrina will have the courage to reveal herself to her cubs." Even though other animals in the wild don't typically accept young not personally raised by them, Hazel held out in hope that Sabrina could break the mold. If she can make friends and literally understand extinct creatures, then it was entirely within the realm of possibility for Sabrina to reconnect with her children.

"Come on guys. We have a lot more of Prehistoric Park left to see."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Later at** _ **Plateosaurus**_ **Woods…..**

Even though the trek to the next Resident area, she couldn't help but hesitate coming here. Park employees gawked at Hazel's mismatched group as they passed the Employee Barracks, but they were more used to the odd sight of the young woman leading prehistoric creatures through the park. They passed by Titanosaur Treetops, with Yin's herd once again roaming freely around outside of their intended enclosure. Baylene was coincidentally with the _Borealosaurus_ Flock as well, striking up a conversation with the Leading Lady of the gargantuan sauropods. After briefly greeting the tour group, Hazel mentally steeled her nerves and praying to every deity in the sky that the _Plateosaurus's_ mating season was done. She had absolutely NO intention of witnessing another pair of prosauropods "getting down and dirty" with each other.

"HHHAAAAAZZZZEEEEELLLL!" Catching her by surprise was a small figure gliding through the air and making contact with her back. Even though Hazel stumbled forward a few steps, she managed to regain her balance from her surprise assault. Aladar and the rest of the tour group witnessed a small feathery biped hanging off of Hazel's right shoulder. By the creature's feminine chirps, it was evidently a female. At first, the prehistoric tourists thought it was a small bird, but as the tiny feather creature scaled up the young woman's back to perch on her shoulder, it was more evident that she was a type of raptor. Despite the small twinge of unease, they remained calm as Hazel giggled in good nature.

"Hi Breezy, what are you doing so far away from Nigel's Treetop Den?" The white-feathered female and her male followers usually stuck around their aviary, _Microraptor_ Fortress, near her mentor's office. Breezy just shrugged her tiny shoulders.

"We're just seeing how far we can travel. We've been gliding all over Nigel's tree house, but he is always so busy looking over all those papers at his desk. I dunno why he's so busy though, but we didn't want to bug him. So we decided to glide to visit Yin and the rest of her Flock." Breezy's voice was high pitched and akin to a young girl's tone of voice, even though Breezy and the rest of her followers were mature adults.

While it was odd that Nigel didn't acknowledge the tiny theropods, it wasn't too out of place for him to be handling some paperwork that he neglected. Maybe he was planning out his next adventure to the past? Shaking out of her thoughts, Hazel turned her head towards the little raptor to introduce her prehistoric companions.

"Breezy, these are some new Resident living in the Valley section of the Park." Hazel gestured with her free hand to her companions. "This is Aladar, the Alpha male of the herd. Naomi and Embo are the cerulean and navy _Iguanodons_. The two Ceratopsians are Sarge and Doru, a _Pachyrhinosaurus_ and _Styracosaurus_ respectively. Altus is a _Struthiomimus,_ the guy who looks like one of our _Ornithumimus_ Residents. And last but not least is Lethe the _Parasaurolophus_. Everyone, this is Breezy. She's a Microraptor and Head of a Guild of three other males." Hazel raised her hand to put the group at ease. "Don't worry, she and her kind mostly eat bugs and small rodents. Plus, this is the maximum size that she reaches." The Head _Microraptor_ grasped in realization to Hazel's knowledge.

"OH! These are some of the guys that you rescued from that Meteor in the past?"

Lethe looked questioningly at the miniscule raptor. "How do you know that?" Breezy just giggled in response.

"Well, one of the advantages of having my aviary so close to Nigel's tree house is that me and the rest of my Guild get a sneak peek at all of what Nigel plans are for the Park." The group was surprised by that tidbit of information, Hazel included.

"Wow Breezy, I didn't know you and your Guild liked eavesdropping so much." Hazel slightly snarked. The peppy _Microraptor_ took the human keeper's comment in stride.

"Yup! My Guild and I get the info from Nigel's office when he talks to that Camera guy, Cameron. I don't mean to brag, but it was basically Espantos and me that came up with that idea of starting a gossip network. My Guild and I get the news, and then the big guy is our courier that spreads the news to the other Residents. It's amazing that Espantos would do that job when we pay him with some of our leftovers from our meals." If learning the fact that Breezy and her band of gliders were tiny spies, learning that Espantos had an actual reason to break out of his enclosure for the promise of snacks blew Hazel's mind.

"You mean to tell me that the reason that he breaks out is because he's your courier?!"

"Actually it wasn't like that at first. One morning, a little after Espantos was rescued, he came out of nowhere and just kept running around at the base of the tree that housed our Fortress and kept pestering us to be his friends." Breezy admitted. "We told him to introduce himself to all of the other Residents of the park, get their names, and to tell them that 'Breezy and her Guild says hello'. We said that if he could do it before noon, we would be friends and give him a snack." The white-feathered raptor giggled slightly. "He not only learned the names of all the Residents, but he relayed our message to all of them too! All in less than an hour!"

Hazel just whistled in appreciation. "Man, can really book it when he wants too. Prehistoric Park is huge and he managed to cover all that ground in an hour? I'm impressed." Hazel then chuckled in realization. "That would also explain why all the Residents were moody that day." She remembered the days prior to her ability to understand "Prehistoric-Speak" that all of the prehistoric animals that day were annoyed at something that day. It all made sense to her now. Breezy sheepishly smiled at her audience.

"Yeah, even though we didn't see any of the other Residents, we did _hear_ them cursing our name in the distance." Aladar in the rest of the tour group chuckled at the amusing tale of the zany prehistoric bird of prey.

"That Espantos fella sounds hilarious!" Doru exclaimed in mirth, "Who is he anyways?"

"And what species is he?" Naomi managed to say behind her demure laugh.

Hazel just sighed and shook her head at the park's spastic _Phorusrhacos_ 's antics. "If he's out and about, he'll most likely find us before we find him."

"Sooo… Whatcha' guys doing?" Breezy spontaneously questioned.

"We were heading to see the _Plateosaurus_ enclosure, but I'm not sure if they're… um… _decent_ at the moment." Breezy just giggled.

"Oh, I heard what happened to you on that day." Hazel cheeks started to burn in embarrassment. "Well, don't worry your pretty little head. Their season finished a few days ago. So you shouldn't see any more 'beasts with two-backs'." The young woman face palmed, eager to hide her embarrassed red face.

Sarge was puzzled at the confusing euphemisms being used between the feathered dinosaur and the human. "'A beast with two backs'? That sounds absolutely ridiculous."

"Does Prehistoric Park really have a creature with two backs?" Hazel couldn't help but become even more uncomfortable the longer her new friends stayed on the subject the embarrassing double entendre. Breezy tried and failed to stifle her laughs at the girl's obvious discomfort.

"Anyways, I'll catch you later Hazel," Breezy giggled. "I really got to catch up with my Guild. I just stopped by to say hello!" The _Microraptor_ managed to perch on the flushed human's right arm. "Can you do me a favor and chuck me in the direction of Titanosaur Treetops? I don't want to waste my time climbing a tree."

Hazel being all too eager, pitched little Breezy like an Olympic Javelin Thrower. At the peak of Hazel's throw, the _Microraptor_ opened her wings and soared to her destination. Sure, her arm cast inhibited her throwing ability by a tiny bit, but she was able to do so nonetheless.

"Thanks for the lift Hazel! Welcome to the Park you guys!" Breezy managed to shout out before she got out of hearing range.

"That little theropod is just asking for trouble."

As she continued down the path to the _Plateosauruses_ , ignoring all of her tour group's attempts at asking what a "beast with two backs" were, she arrived at another similarly designed enclosure. It had many lush plants and ferns inside perfect for the low browsing prosauropods. In an area where the lush leaves parted was an open meadow with multitudes of ferns lining the perimeter of the area. Browsing there, was the entire group of _Plateosauruses_ of the enclosure. The blue-toned males were browsing close to their new bonded grey-scaled females. They seemed to be in an obviously noticeable good mood, and the females kept giggling when they caught sight of their mates. Hazel had a pretty good idea of the reason why the females were so giddy, but she dared not pursue that train of thought further. She only barely resisted the urge to burn her retinas out the first time she saw a _Plateosaurus_ pain in a… _compromising_ act, she didn't want to risk a relapse of the thoughts of self harm to preserve her innocent eyes. A prominent couple noticed the group's arrival and lumbered forth to greet them at the fence line. It was a male and female duo; the confident way they carried themselves giving away their status as Alphas of their group.

"Salutations! Welcome Aladar and company to our neck of the woods." The female called out, having a well-cultured accent in her tone. Arching her eyebrow, Hazel eyed the _Plateosaurus_ questioningly.

"Oh, it seems that we're expected."

The male prosauropod bowed his head slightly in apology. "My apologies, Ms. Veran. My mate Thena was very eager to meet the newcomers as soon as word got around of their rescue weeks ago."

"And you two are?" Hazel asked, feeling slightly embarrassed of not personally knowing the kindly couple in front of her.

"My name is Thena. And this is Oddie, my mate. We're the Lord and Lady of the _Plateosaurus_ Masses." The female introduced formally.

"It's nice to meet you, Thena. Oddie." Aladar nodded in greeting to the prosauropods. Hazel took the reins of the introductions after her friend told the two _Plateosauruses_ the names of his followers.

"Thena, Oddie, these dinosaurs, as you may already know, are the new Residents of the Valley that Nigel and I just rescued." Hazel started, as she began to divulge her knowledge of Thena and Oddie's species to her tour group.

"These two are Plateosaurs from the Late Triassic period. They are prosauropods, meaning that they are an early offshoot of the sauropod family." At the looks of bewilderment her companions gave her, she quickly amended her answer into terms they could understand. "Er… They were at one point of time related to dinosaurs like Baylene and Yin."

Now fully understanding the meaning of the word they accessed Thena and Oddie's forms one more time. While they could see the resemblances between the two family groups, they were left with one question.

"If they were cousins from way back when, then why are they so short?" a certain _Pachyrhinosaurus_ asked, scanning the significantly smaller stature of the prosauropods when compared to the titanic forms of the _Brachiosaurus_ and _Borealosaurus_ that the group has seen prior. Sarge's blunt statement made Hazel want to smack the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ upside the head for being so rude. She refrained from that urge, reluctantly since the girl knew that she would end up hurting herself if she did, and remained cordial.

"Well Sarge, in that point of time, sauropods and prosauropods diverged in evolution from each other. One side favoring long necks to reach their food, like Baylene, and one side favoring a bipedal stance to reach their food, like Thena and Oddie." While the meaning eluded them, the group understood the gist of the explanation. After a long amount of time, mostly Thena questioning each tour member of their species and origin, Hazel urged her group to get going to see the remaining Residents. She was, however, stopped by the Lord and Lady, who wanted a moment of Hazel's time before she left. Waving her group to continue forward without her for the moment, Hazel complied with the _Plateosaurus_ pair's request.

"What's up guys?" The young woman asked, not knowing why she was pulled to the side by the Triassic dinosaurs. The two prosauropods adopted a look of discomfort on their faces.

"We would… like to apologize, Hazel." Thena started, managing to blush for some reason.

"Um…For what?"

"It came to our attention that some time ago, you may or may not have caught me and Thena during a more… _intimate_ time together." Oddie continued for his mate, just as flushed as Thena. Hazel had to think for a moment. She has never met these two friendly dinosaurs before, so what happened weeks ago that… Hazel's eyes widened in realization as her face paled.

"Oh my God… So that was—"

"Yeah," Oddie stated awkwardly.

"And I caught you two—"

"Y-Y-Yes…" Thena stuttered. Her grey scales on her face in hiding her red, burning blush.

The trio stood frozen in place. Hazel was gaping like a fish, trying and failing to voice her now sullied thoughts of the two prosauropods. Thena and Oddie waited for the human to respond to their apology for their indecent behavior in the past.

"So… can we trust you to not—?"

"Yup! Of course! Your secret is safe with me! Don't mention it…" Oddie was cut off mid sentence by a clearly disturbed Hazel. Thena sighed in relief, grateful of the young keeper's understanding.

"Thank yo—"

"EVER!" Hazel shouted at the top of her lungs. She swiftly turned by her heel and stiffly strode off, eager to leave as quickly as she could. Oddie turned to his mate.

"I think that went well."

As Aladar and his followers waited patiently for their guide to return, they were quite puzzled as to why the young woman had a pale look upon her face.

"Um… Hazel?" Lethe began, a little put off by Hazel's frantic movements.

"Are you quite alright?" Even Altus was concerned for the Asian girl's unnatural behavior.

"Yup, I'm fine! Just fine! Nothing's wrong with me! Just your average, normal _Homo-sapien_ that loves dinosaurs and has certainly NOT bore witness to them having sex with each other during their mating season! HAHAHAHAHA! Come on! Let's go and see more prehistoric predators that you guys should definitely stay away from! ALLONSY!" Hazel manically said, slightly unhinged from the disgusting thoughts that she repressed before. The others followed suit, keeping their distance from their guide's apparent mental break.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Later at the** _ **Elasmotherium**_ **paddock…**

After Hazel came back to her senses, she apologized to her friends and continued on. Due to the nature of the next two enclosures, she opted to introduce them from a distance. The Rex Twins were still grounded, so Hazel showed her group the twins from a few yards away to not break their punishment; no matter how much Terrence and Matilda begged to be let off. Their reactions were expected. Despite the twins not quite measuring up to Diablo's unnatural stature, they were still young and had more room to grow to their full adult size. The edge was put off when they saw the Twins childishly begging their surrogate sister Hazel to let them have more freedom and to end their grounding.

What really put them on edge was Diablo. The human guide made them keep their distance to avoid another mass panic attack and to avoid Diablo going on a destructive rampage at the sight of Aladar and/or the herd members he traveled with. Luckily, they caught him during a nap, so the vicious _Carnotaurus_ remained oblivious to his unknowing spectators. Now Hazel and her group were walking back to the Herd Grounds, deliberating their final verdict of their thoughts of Prehistoric Park. Little did they know, to get back to the Valley, they had to pass one of the most disgruntled Residents of the Park. And at the moment, he wasn't in the mood for company.

The _Elasmotherium_ male was a natural loner, even more so to his own species' standards. He found most creatures that tried to interact with him to be an annoyance and would politely tell them, at least in _Elasmotherium_ standards, to get lost. He had an extremely short fuse and most of the park keepers wisely gave him a wide berth when tending to his enclosure.

' _Heh, at least I give ample warnings now of days. Back in the Ice Age, I trampled and ran my horn through annoyances for less_.' The testy male rhino mused as he munched on some savannah grass next to the fence line of his enclosure.

Just as he was going to reach down for another mouth-watering bunch of grass, the _Elasmotherium's_ keen sense of smell caught wind of a familiar scent of a certain young human girl. He always wondered how and why she smelled like that one crested flyer from days ago, constant anxiety, fried meat and an electrical storm put together after her most recent trip through the Rift, but he hardly cared in the first place to actually voice his inquiries to her. The male just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Maybe if I keep quiet, they'll just leave me be and move on." His bass-like voice rumbled under his breath. Unfortunately, it seemed that he would not get his wish as Hazel's group were approaching by his enclosure, currently in the middle of a squabble. Grunting in irritation, the Ice Age rhino tried to block out the inane bickering of Hazel and her disputing companions.

"What if we gathered all them meat-eaters and use that fancy portal-magig to dump 'em elsewhere?"

"No, Sarge! The Park doesn't do that! Like I said before, if we abused the Time-Poles like that, then we would be no better than the predators!" The little human argued against the stubby nosed dinosaur.

"Plus, some of them are pretty nice. Remember Sabrina, her cubs, and Breezy?" A cerulean _Iguanodon_ female mentioned.

The ostrich-looking dinosaur snorted in retort. "I still say those Irwin and Bruno fellows are quite brutish!" The lanky dinosaur shouted in its pretentious voice, something that grated on the furred rhino's ears.

"Altus, the only reason Bruno was so aggressive was because Sarge pushed him into attacking. And for the last time, Irwin was not roaring, he was yawning!" Hazel argued.

Being fed up with the loud bickering, the _Elasmotherium_ called out to the group of intruder. "HEY, YOU!"

Being startled by his sudden interjection, the group of prehistoric creatures curiously looked in the Ice Age rhino's direction. The only one with any sense of self-preservation was young Hazel, who was slowly backing up with a look of trepidation on her face. The Asian was well aware of his infamous quick to violence disposition. He had to fight the sadistic smirk growing on his face at the sight of the girl's obvious fear of him as he continued berating the prehistoric tour group.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. Leave my territory or else I'm going to get _really_ angry." The _Elasmotherium_ snorted aggressively.

"Easy Big Guy," Hazel cautiously started, "We were just passing through. No need for you to take such measures."

"I'll take as many measures as I want if you don't beat it!" The ancient rhino retorted, with Hazel nodding understandably.

She turned towards her companions. "Guys, maybe we should discuss this somewhere else."

That Altus-bird apparently didn't see the severity or danger of being in the presence of an African bull-elephant sized rhino on a hair-trigger.

"I disagree! We need to discuss immediately the dangers of living with carnivores—!"

" **RRROOAAAHHHNN!** "

Making the arguing group jump in surprise, the short-tempered _Elasmotherium_ bellowed. His ear-shattering tone deafened the ears of Hazel and her companions.

"LEAVE! NOW!" The Ice Age rhino slammed the 7-foot long monolith that his species calls a horn down onto the enclosure fence that flimsily separated them. Wood exploded from the male's sudden bout of violence, showering the astonished audience with splintering shrapnel of the wood barricade. The Perimeter Collar detected the breach and did its job of distributing its high voltage discipline. However, the ancient male rhino hardly flinched at the obviously painful electrical current running through him.

Hazel was the first one to retreat from the Pleistocene herbivore. "Everybody run!"

Hastily chasing after their now surprisingly nimble human guide, Aladar and company fled the _Elasmotherium's_ habitat. Once again in peaceful solitude, the giant rhinoceros's angered expression dimmed slightly. When he was certain the cowardly pests were out of earshot, the male backed away from the fence line.

"Oww…" The massive herbivore slightly shook his enormous foreleg in the air, shaking off the phantom-pains of his electric collar going off during his tantrum. It took all his will power not to cry out in pain when his Perimeter Collar went off at the beginning, but the _Elasmotherium_ knew the importance of putting on facades. If other saw you as an unflinching threat from the start, then you wouldn't need to expend your energy to defend yourself from most dangers later on. The last of the electrical aftermath behind him, the enormous herbivore continued to eat his lunch. Without further interruptions to his peace and quiet.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Later on near the Herd Grounds….**

After sprinting away from the irate Resident's enclosure, Hazel and her companions were panting and catching their breaths at the edge of valley the herd resides. Understandably, the prehistoric members were quite startled by the hostile reception that the furred behemoth gave them.

"What in the world was that?!" Lethe panted, shaken up by the previous meeting.

"That Lethe, was an ornery male _Elasmotherium_ that Nigel rescued a few years ago on a trip to Martha's era of time for what was supposed to be a simple food run for her." The human keeper explained after catching enough breath for her to speak.

"Was that guy a vicious carnivore from that time or something?" Embo asked. The navy colored dinosaur's mate was leaning against him panting heavily. Naomi could barely stand and was using him as support to remain on her feet.

To the group's shock, Hazel shook her head to indicate that Embo was incorrect in his assumption. "Nope. That horned anger management case is pure herbivore."

"So he's like those Their-a-what's-its from before? An herbivore with a predator ancestor?" Sarge questioned.

"Wrong again. He's an herbivore through and through. No meat eaters in his family tree. I'd still keep your distance from him if I were you. Big Guy honestly terrifies me." Her admission confused the group even further.

"He's an herbivore AND you're afraid of him? I thought you made friends with all of the creatures of Prehistoric Park?" Aladar said, looking towards the young woman.

"Well he's the one that got away I guess. Not for lack of trying mind you," Hazel shrugged her shoulders. "I tried multiple times to get to know the Big Guy, but he gets majorly pissed whenever I try being friends with him."

"Is 'Big Guy' his actual name?" Naomi asked, finally calming her breathing to talk normally.

"No, I only call him that because he refuses to give me his actual name." Hazel was still a little miffed about that little detail. "But what can I do? I'm sure as heck not going to argue with a five-ton beast with a seven-freaking-foot tall horn jutting from his face and pointed at me!"

"How can an herbivore partake in such unruly behavior?" Altus questioned. He seemed the less winded, due to his species specializing in running.

"You say that like 'being a dick and hostile to others' is exclusive to predators," Hazel snarked at the _Struthiomimus._ "While most cases I suppose that's true, that big furry rhino is more prone to violence than most of the other Residents. He won't let anyone near his enclosure besides the keepers in charge of cleaning his habitat, but even then he's reluctant and practically chases the keepers out once they're done."

"Why does that rhino-thing act like that?" The _Styracosaurus_ interjected, curious as to why a creature would be openly hostile for no apparent reason. Hazel just shrugged.

"I wouldn't know, your guess is good as mine. Maybe he had some tragic event that makes him act out. Maybe he is overly paranoid and thinks the world is out to get him. Or maybe he just doesn't like anyone." The human just shook her head wearily. "Out of all of the Residents, he's the one I can't get a connection with… Well, him and Diablo, but that's besides the point."

The group took the time to reflect on their latest encounter. Before coming to Prehistoric Park, and consequently the present, the Herd viewed carnivores as the 'bad guys' and 'monsters' and nothing more while they saw herbivores as civilized and good natured. With Hazel introducing her carnivore friends in a non-hostile setting, they were given perspective. While some were exactly how they thought they would be (Diablo the _Carnotaurus_ ), the majority had hidden depth to them and were quite friendly and easy enough to get along with. They would have never experienced this if they had met them in their natural habitats. The _Elasmotherium_ was so quick to violence that it made them feel brief stabs of fear and wariness; something that was normally reserved for carnivores when they lived in their time.

"Well, that's a shame he isn't as open to being friends with you Hazel." Naomi broke the silence, a small smile gracing her lips. "He doesn't know what he's missing." Before Hazel could thank the cerulean female for her kind words, a familiar childish voice interrupted her.

"Yeah, Mr. Furry Fussy-Britches is kinda a grump. But I'm sure that he has a big lovable heart somewhere in all that hair. He's probably waiting for the right best friend to share his loveable heart and be friends with! They're probably gonna need some shears to find it though." Coming up unexpectedly behind Naomi was Prehistoric Park's yellow and black Terror Bird, Espantos. His surprise appearance startled the cerulean _Iguanodon_ as she jumped in surprise.

"AH!" Naomi shrieked as she scrambled slightly behind Embo. The others were also put on guard at the sudden new figure appearing in their group; Hazel just gritted her teeth at the crazy Miocene predator.

' _How the heck does he keep doing that?!_ ' The young Filipino internally screamed, once again flabbergasted by the fact that the 300-lb bird got the drop on her group again!

"Hello!" Espantos cheerfully greeted, disregarding the on edge dinosaurs that he unintentionally surprised.

"Espantos!"

"HAZELNU—!"

"Stop…" Hazel sharply deadpanned in order to prevent starting another one of his inane games.

"Who and what in the world is that?!" Exclaimed Altus, as he was craning his neck up to take in the Terror Bird's dwarfing 10-foot height. The flightless bird was narrowly built, most of his height coming from his thin, well-built running legs, but rest came from his neck. Unlike Altus's thin lanky neck, the earthbound avian's neck was thick and muscular that built all the way up toward his head, and the abnormally large razor beak that came with it. The prehistoric group could only guess, but from their past dealings with predators, they could assume that the creature before them was designed to nimbly ran down his quarry and attack with his clearly lethal beak.

Altus, along with the rest of the present herd members, had a natural instinct to discern predators and avoid them if possible. Their surprise guest made the group's self preservation instincts ring off immediately, and with no human made barricades to protect them from the potential threat, they couldn't help but shy away in caution. Before Hazel could put her friends' collective minds at ease, Espantos took the initiative and introduced himself.

"I'm Espantos! My species name is _Phorusrhacos,_ but my kind falls under the family of _Phorusrhacidae_ or more commonly known as 'Terror Birds'. I come from the Miocene era of South America, which more or less looked like current day Africa, which is here by the way. For about sixty million years, my kind was the apex predator of the land due to having being isolated to a continent surrounded by water. Then, somehow, the land to the north wanted to be friends with my lands and connected the two by a land-bridge. With that, some of my kind traveled to the north, while new friends came to my old land. Yeah, they were kind of bullies, eating all the meats and not even sharing! My kind was slowly out hunted to extinction due to the fact that we couldn't compete with the brute strength of the carnivores that the icy northern lands produced to be able to takedown mega-fauna. By the time the bullies took over, I was probably the last Terror Bird alive. But then, Nigel Marvin helped me steal some Toxodon meats and we became friends! And all I had to do to get the meats and be friends with Mr. Marvin was play a game of 'Strike-Tag' and chase the meats through the glow-y white light! Now I've got a new home, good food, unlimited games of 'Strike-Tag' and other fun things, and my best friend 'the Hazelnut'!" The Terror Bird sighed in slight fatigue. "Man, I'm gonna need a drink. That was super long!"

The entire tour group was stunned by the sheer amount of words that the Terror Bird managed to say in such a short amount of time; Hazel included. While the group didn't really understand most of what he said, Hazel was slack jawed for another reason. Not only did Espantos formally greeted them without any of his childish antics, but he managed to, in his own way, knowledgeably paraphrase his entire species' history from their undisputed rule of South America to the twilight years of being knocked off their perch by invading Ice Age predators. It made the young keeper wonder how much the Terror Bird actually knew about his surroundings and if hidden beneath his feathers and childish nature was an actual calculating hyper-predator lying in wait to rundown and shatter the skull of his next target. Hazel had to physically shake those morbid thought out of her mind. One thing did stand out to her during Espantos's surprisingly informative lecture.

"Why are you able to perfectly recall the name 'Nigel Marven', but to this day still call me 'the Hazelnut'?!" The Asian girl complained to friendly hyper-carnivore.

"Well, that's because Mr. Marven has the title of 'First Friend'. It would be rude if I didn't refer to him by his name properly," Espantos said in that annoyingly slow and unintentionally patronizing lecture voice he used on others who he thought was slow on the uptake.

"Wh-WHAT?! That doesn't explain anythi— Oh forget it…" she should start carrying some headache pills if talks to the spastic bird of prey were going to persist. She turned to the _Phorusrhacos_ to introduce her new friends.

"Espantos, these are some members from the Herd staying in the Valley." The childish Terror Bird just blankly stared at the human girl. With a sigh, Hazel fished around in her mind for a different way of stringing her word for the dimwitted bird to understand. "They are your new neighbors."

"OH! Yes. Yes, hello new neighbors!"

" _Oh dear God just kill me…"_ The exasperated woman muttered under her breath as she continued her unorthodox plan introducing her tour group, plastering on an overly happy smile "The blue one is 'A Leader'. He is the head of the neighborhood watch in the Valley section!"

Said Alpha was confused at the unusual behavior of his friend. "Hazel, what are you—?"

"The spiky, brown one is 'Domo the Steer-Rake-Sores'!" The girl continued, unheeding her friend's concern.

"'Steer-Rake-What'?" Doru confusedly arched an eye-ridge.

"The two other 'I-guano-pods' are Princess 'Neigh-Oh my'!" Naomi was gaping like a fish when the human girl whinnied like a horse and playfully flailed her hands through the air to mimic an equine rearing up and flailing their hooves when she butcher her name. "Her husband is 'Ember-Oh' the scary black one!"

"I'm actually a shade of navy—"

"'Drill-Sergeant' is in charge of Red Army's 'Pac-Man Rhinestones'! Along with his munchkin trainee, 'Tire Check'!" Hazel continued to inanely bubble with that fake smile.

"What the heck is a munchkin?" The gruff _Pachyrhinosaurus_ commented.

"'Leather' is a 'Pair-o-Sore-Roller-Foots', and is the roller-skate teacher of the munchkin, 'Charlie Brown'!"

"Have you gone completely mental?" Lethe asked the now random girl, while wondering to herself what in the world were "roller-skates". Hazel just powered through the group's confusion.

"And lastly but least-ly, is Alter-us! He's a dinosaur bird thingy!" The human keeper finished off with a joyous scream at the top of her lungs. Altus was too confused to properly scold the human's insane and incorrect chatter. Now openly worried about Hazel, Aladar slowly approached the Asian girl and spoke slowly.

"Hazel, maybe we should go to your healer friend Suzanne—." Hazel just held up her index finger to make the blue Iguanodon halt his talking. She was still wearing her "extremely happy" smile, as she concentrated on Espantos. The _Phorusrhacos_ was silent through the girl's seemingly random bout of insanity. He was watching her act, mime, and make a fool of herself with a cocked head, taking in the humorous scene. With their eyes now lock, Hazel's serious chestnut eyes meeting Espantos's childish dark browns, Hazel waited for about a minute for all of the information to sink into the crazy bird's head.

Hoping that she didn't waste her time acting like a moron, Hazel spoke up. "Espantos, do you understa—?"

"Yes. I totally… understand… Everything! That was being said!" The Terror Bird exclaimed, causing Hazel to get a sense of déjà vu.

"Pop quiz birdbrain. What are their names?"

"Oh that's easy! The blue one is Aladar and he's the Alpha of his herd living in the Valley of the park. The spiky, brown one is Doru the _Styracosaurus_. The other two _Iguanodons_ are Mrs. Naomi and her mate Embo, the cool as night navy one. Sarge is the red-scaled _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , who also happens to be youngling Tirech's father! Lethe is a _Parasaurolophus_ and is the mother of the youngling Charon! And last but not least is Altus. He's a _Struthiomimus."_

"YES! I DID IT!" Hazel was so happy to have finally gotten through to the seemingly idiotic Terror Bird. And all that is cost her was her dignity in front of her friends. It was a fair trade. As Hazel was celebrating her recent victory, her friends still not quite sure what the heck they witnessed, Espantos turned to Aladar with a curious look.

"Hmm… 'Aladar'… Isn't that a coincidence?" The Terror Bird commented, catch the Alpha male's attention.

"What do you mean Espantos?" Aladar asked, tearing his eyes away at Hazel's odd victory dance. The Miocene predator just shrugged his tiny wings.

"Well when I was playing keep away with some of the worker people near the Valley, this big meanie-greenie bully guy, I think his name was 'Knee-Rows', kept screaming at other not-yet-friends in the Valley. He kept yelling, 'Where is "A Ladder"! GET ME "A LADDER"!'. And then he started playing tag with the nearby worker people. It's funny because your name sounds like that!" Hazel, who overheard Espantos's gossip, froze in place. In a flash, she strode up to the 10-foot bird and pulled down his neck to get his head to her eye level. As soon as Espantos's head was within reach, Hazel grasped both sides of his head to force him to look her in the eyes; which were now reflecting concern in them.

"Espantos! What did you just say?!" She frantically asked.

"I was playing keep away with the worker—?"

"AFTER THAT!"

"Hazel, what's going on? What are you doing?" Aladar questioned. He and the group were gathering around the human and the gigantic bird of prey in her grasp.

"Praying to God I'm not right." She acknowledged her friend before focusing again on the Terror Bird again. "What did you say about 'Knee-Rows', Espantos?"

Seeing that his best friend the Hazelnut was in distress, Espantos tried to recall the important facts about the bully "Knee-Rows".

"He was screaming and acting like a meanie-greenie to the others in the Valley. And he kept asking for 'A Ladder!'. Then he played tag with a few of the worker people. I still don't know why he wants 'A Ladder'. He's way too big to climb one! My guess is that he's not very smart."

After a few moments deciphering the Terror Birds inane chatter, Hazel's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh no…" Releasing Espantos's head, the human girl turned to Aladar in panic. "Aladar! Nero is terrorizing the Valley and may be attacking the park keepers in the area! I think he wants to find you."

"What?!" The young Alpha yelled.

"It seems that Nero is calling you out Aladar." Doru deduced. "I think he's making a play for your position as leader."

Turning towards Hazel, the Alpha's face turned from confusion to determination in seconds. "Get on Hazel." Aladar lowered himself for the girl to hitch a ride on, which she quickly complied to. Just as she secured herself on her back, Aladar rose up and nearly made her fall off in surprise.

"Get to the Valley as quick as you can," He ordered his followers with his authority as Alpha. With his brief order, the group ran off, with Aladar galloping far faster than the rest of his following. He had a challenge to a meet head on.

Left in the wake of the tour group's hasty retreat, Espantos was left standing in the same place as he coughed away the dust the group kicked up when they suddenly raced off. When he regained his bearings, he quickly tore after the group of new friends. If there was something going down, Espantos was sure as heck going to bear witness to it.

"Aw man! I hate cliffhangers!" he screamed up at the sky as if omnipresent beings were watching over everyone in the valley.


	19. To Be a Leader

_*Darksage comes in with a soda hat with two straws and blue-green pom poms. Marc follows behind and casually sits in a bleacher while Darksage just stands behind the bars of the balcony*_

 _Darksage: Cool! We made it!_

 _Marc: Uh yeah? We're basically omniscient writers. We're the gods here, remember? All we did was teleport to this place in a few seconds._

 _Darksage: Yeah but still! We got the best seats in the house!_

 _Marc: We're the only ones here…_

 _*glares at him for a moment before facing forward again*_

 _Marc: Well did you at least organize our notes on the sequel before we left?_

 _Darksage: Sure did. The Park's going to love a…certain Jurassic carnivore we've got planned for them. Along with some other creatures *smiles deviously*_

 _Marc: *eyes her with a scolding expression, prompting her to stop* Anyway, sorry for the long wait folks. Sage and I had a number of things on our hands: jobs, finishing school semesters, internships, and all that jazz._

 _Darksage: We also want to let you guys know that the upcoming chapters will be…well let's just say they're going to take a while to write. To shorten up to two words, they're going to be big and beefy._

 _Marc: And finally, we also want to let you guys know that_ _ **we do not own Disney's Dinosaur and Prehistoric Park. We only own the characters we created.**_

 _*Blaring alarm and the universal screen appears in front of them*_

 _Darksage: Alright it's starting! *waves pom poms in the air*_

 _Marc: *sighs then sees a guy going down the steps with a basket full of popcorn bags* Yo popcorn dude! Get me two bags of those!_

 _*Random dude brings them two large bags of popcorn then leaves up the steps*_

 _Darksage: GAME TIME!_

 _Marc: What she said…*takes one popcorn and eats it*_

 _ **Soundtrack: Ascendance by Recordladel**_

The afternoon sun beamed over the valley with its celestial radiance. In the coming late hours, the temperatures would cool. But for now, the valley was bathed in its warming glory. The clouds hung over like thick gray streaks, yet no rain had come today. The glowing orb lay behind the clouds, creating a picturesque sunset.

Marcus was not in the mood to enjoy the view though. With his job as the park's head engineer and the budget crisis still looming over the park, he needed to do something to relax. Sometimes, when he was very stressed, he would begin to work on other projects to distract him. In this case, he had been working on yet another invention, courtesy of a certain broken earpiece. He had two things on his agenda at the moment, and both of those reasons were to test his device out.

He would have tested it with the Residents of the park, but he chose to use the herd as his test subjects. Unfortunately...they weren't being very cooperative.

The engineer carefully weaved through a crowd of _Struthiomimus_ grazing. The ostrich mimics scrambled out of the way of the incoming engineer, who had disturbed their dinner of savannah grass by passing by them. They squawked and chirped as they disappeared behind him.

"Oh come on," he groaned. He put a hand on his forehead then rubbed his temples with his thumb and index finger. "We were just passing by. Did I scare them or something?"

"No, I think it was me...or my camera," another voice said from behind him. Marcus turned to see Cameron the cameraman rushing up to him with the gigantic black video recorder. He stopped just a few feet from him and bent down, gasping for air.

Cameron was the primary cameraman for Prehistoric Park. Although there were about three or four other members in the recording team, he was the head of them. He was a young man of twenty-seven, but had a lot of experience with technology like Marcus. Cameron had been working for Nigel and Prehistoric Park for years, so he had a lot of experience with close encounters in the ancient past, and the Residents they rescued. When Nigel first hired him, everyone in the park confused him as Australian, however, he actually came from New Zealand. He also sported the Alan Grant look, with his dirty blonde hair parted in the same fashion, and wore a sky blue V-neck T-shirt with blue denim jeans.

"What took you so long?" Marcus blatantly asked him.

"Hey, you asked me to record everything," the crewman defended and looked up at his client. "So that's what I was doing! Also, one of those blunt-nosed dudes snorted in front of my lens and sneezed on it. It took me forever to wipe away the snot!"

The cameraman looked over at the bottom of his shirt only to see the faint outline of a damp splotch on his cerulean-colored T-shirt. He groaned in disgust and shuddered.

"Now can you please tell me why we're here?" he demanded.

At that statement, Marcus dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a hearing aid device. The object was completely made of metal, save for the hook-shaped wrap that was meant to hold onto the ear. In the middle was a small red button and a knob that had a few spokes around the wheel.

"We're here because I want to test this out. I just finished this thing last night and I want to give it a test run."

Cameron's left eyebrow went up. "So...we're here because you want to test out a new bluetooth speaker? Can't you just buy one at a store?"

The engineer let out a cry of irritation and brought the device to the man's face. "No, it's a communicator. It's just like the one Hazel had before. I just managed to build one just like it based on its circuitry and form."

The cameraman's eyes lit up in realization. His mouth dropped onto the ground like a rock. "Oh...so you're planning on talking to these guys? Then why didn't you do so in the first place? Why do the test here rather than with the other Residents or any other dinosaur in this valley? Or better yet, why didn't you tell me before!?"

Marcus put the communicator into his right ear then folded his arms over his chest. "Well I was going to when I met them...but either they weren't up for a conversation with a stranger, or they were too busy doing other stuff. Besides, most of the herd members are still getting used to the place. So I think I'd rather test this out with Hazel's friends, that's if I run into any of them."

"Alright fine. So you want me to record you trying that thing out?" he questioned the leading engineer.

The twenty-five year old man nodded. "Pretty much. Just wanted full documentation of the communicator being tested is all. It's science."

"Great," he remarked. He shifted his feet and lifted the camera up so that he was carrying it with both hands. "So where are the test subjects?"

"Um…" Marcus' eyes lit up in surprise. He was about to look around for them when a loud chatter echoed from behind the cameraman.

Both men diverted their attention towards that direction to see four lemurs and four young dinosaurs racing towards them. Their faces lit up with delight, at least for the most part.

The lemurs that were hopping on the left of the young dinosaurs were mostly white in fur, with two of them having patches of brown. The third lemur on the right did not have sort of brown blemishes except for her tail, which had a bit of black. The fourth primate on the left was all yellow in color, was scrawny looking, and had messy fur. Two of those lemurs Marcus recognized from the hospital incident; those being the young white and brown female, and the lemon-colored male. The eldest female, who was the one way ahead of them, looked similar to the youngest of the bunch, except she had more white than brown fur.

Then there were the dinosaur children. The leading _Iguanodon_ child in the front looked like Aladar, the alpha male. He sported a blue-green hide with a cream underbelly along with green eyes, like the leader. The only difference between the two of them was that his back lacked the dark splotches from the burns. Marcus deduced that he was in direct relation to Hazel's friend and was most likely his son.

The second child was a young _Parasaurolophus_. Marcus' knowledge of dinosaurs was not very extensive, but he did know of a few species, all thanks to Jurassic Park. This one was female because of her body size and the opposite gender would have slightly more muscle. Her hide was dark blue with beige stripes running vertically on her back and her eyes were sky blue. She looked very much like the other hadrosaurs in the herd.

The third one was a child _Pachyrhinosaurus_. LIke the others of this one's species, the skin was teal in color, save for the head because that was tan. Because this was a juvenile, the head crest and the nose did not sport any horns. At least, not from where Marcus was standing. He deduced that they would grow sometime in his young adulthood.

Finally, the last juvenile was another _Iguanodon_. This one was a bit smaller by a couple of inches than the blue-green one. The young male sported purple scales, cream colored stripes on his back, had a cream underbelly, and yellow eyes. Judging from his appearance, Marcus assumed that he was the runt of a litter...er clutch in this case.

The dinosaurs and the lemurs all stopped just a few feet from the two men. If Marcus had bothered to look at Cameron, he would have seen that he started recording the conversation that began to unfold. The first to speak up was the yellow-furred primate. However, all that came out of his mouth were squeaks and chatters.

"What?" Marcus raised an eyebrow. His eyes then lit up and he gasped. "Oh right!"

He pressed the button on the earpiece he had with his right hand. The device hummed to life in his ear, which disappeared within a couple of seconds. "Okay, what was that again?"

" _I hope this works…"_ he prayed.

Zini cleared his throat. "I said, Hey Marcus! Fancy seeing you here."

The man jumped for joy and did a hard pull down with his fist down to his raised knee. "Whoo! Marcus Rey does it again! I should get a Nobel Prize for this…"

The children and the primates stared at him in confusion. His cheering, dancing, and odd singing made him look like some overexcited youngling. What's even more was that Cameron was capturing each and every minute of the action.

"Marcus?" Suri started, prompting the man to stop his strut. He immediately straightened and cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

"Sorry, went a little over there."

"Ooooooooookay?" Talin said slowly, still confused at what just happened. He eyed Zini and Suri at his right. "Zini, Suri, you said you know this guy right?"

Suri looked over at him and nodded. The others watched her as she explained her and Zini's connection to him. "Yeah, he was one of the humans that helped in getting Hazel back here."

"Wait, you guys know about that?" Marcus observed them in slight surprise.

"Sure do!" Tirech jumped. "Zini and Suri told us everything the day they got back!"

It was at that statement that Plio glared at both her daughter and her brother. The two of them looked away from her to avoid meeting her schooling gaze.

"And they're still in trouble for causing such a mess at the time," she added with a hint of disappointment. Even though she wasn't there, the fact that the two of them caused a huge mess to a place filled with humans was worrying. Even almost getting caught by one angered her. As a result, Plio made Zini tend to the elders and the younglings in the clan for a week, while Suri was given an earlier curfew a little before sundown for the same amount of time.

The matriarch's brother and her daughter screamed "Plio!" and "Mom!" at the same time. The head female gave them a scolding look, causing them to quiet down. Next to Plio, Aya could not help but quietly snicker at her boyfriend's reaction.

"Anyway," the blue-green _Iguanodon_ child diverted his gaze back to the two humans. "I'm Talin."

He then gestured over to his friends and brother with his head. "That's Charon, Tirech, and my little brother, Alden."

The other children either nodded, smiled, or in Alden's case, shyly back away behind Tirech a little. Marcus nodded at them to show that he understood what they said and that he acknowledged them. As for Cameron, although he did not know what they were saying, he stayed quiet nonetheless.

Marcus glanced at the cameraman and told him each one of the children's names. The man nodded in understanding.

The engineer then looked over at the lemurs. The matriarch straightened to put on a pose of dignity.

"And I am Plio," she introduced herself and then gestured to the pure white lemur nearby. "And that is Aya."

She then looked over at her brother and daughter, who smiled weakly up at him. Afterwards, Plio smiled up at him as well, erasing the disapproval expression on her face. "And of course, you know Zini and Suri. It is a pleasure to meet another one of Hazel's friends."

"Great to meet you guys as well," he replied, then doing the same thing with translating to Cameron, including the two lemurs he met before.

"This is just a guess, but are the both of you somehow related to Aladar and Neera?" Marcus wondered and used the number two sign on his right hand to point at the two _Iguanodons_.

Alden spoke softly, but Marcus could hear him perfectly. As for Cameron, he could only hear soft barks. "Yeah, they're our parents."

"Ah! Fancy that," he laughed. He cleared his throat and continued with the next question. This time, he looked over at the lemurs. "Forgive me for asking, but didn't I see five of you the day before yesterday? You know, when we brought your friend back?"

Plio nodded and smiled. "Right. That would be my father, Yar."

The white and brown lemur pointed over to her left with a finger at the forest. The cameraman and engineer looked over at that direction.

"He is with the other members of our clan. He was feeling a little tired today and is resting at the moment."

Marcus raised his head then looked back at her. "Ah, that explains it."

"So with the introductions aside," Charon trumpeted, making everyone put their focus on the female hadrosaur. Her eyes were oddly fixed on Cameron, or more specifically, the camera. "May I ask what that thing is that your friend is holding?"

The little _Pachyrhinosaurus_ squeaked then took a few steps toward them. Cameron immediately zoomed in on the ceratopsian, who was looking at him now. "Yeah, what is that thing? It looks like a cross between a tree and a skinny rock."

Marcus could not help but chuckle. "That's a camera. We're actually recording each and every minute of our conversation."

"Record?" Suri's curiosity piqued.

"Is it a living being?" Aya asked.

"Why do you have it?" Alden went next, his shyness escaping him when he stopped hiding behind Tirech.

The twenty-five year old man eyed the cameraman first then sighed. He was not exactly prepared for teaching kids, or even other curious adults. Especially when they're from 65 million years ago.

"First, record is a certain action that will create a physical representation of a past time. It helps others to remember certain events. Second, no it's not a living being. Third, I asked Cameron here to document my experiments on the communicator I'm using."

While the kids, Zini, Suri, and Aya were trying to wrap their heads on Marcus' explanation, Plio was the first to ask what his experiments were. She did not know what that word meant, but her curiosity was at an all time high, even though she hid her reaction well.

"What kind of experiments?" the head lemur asked.

Marcus put his hands on his hips. "We're doing one right now. So far, it's working like a charm. Hence why I'm talking to you right now. Since I know it works, I can apply the same techniques, equipment, and programming I used to make even more of them for all the staff members in the park, except for Hazel since she understands you already. As for the other experiment, well, that's a bit more complex."

" _Not to mention a little dangerous,"_ he mused to himself.

Zini grabbed for his head and rolled his eyes. His dizziness was apparent to everyone after hearing the man's scientific babble.

"Oh...my brain hurts…" he fell onto his back. Aya could not help but giggle at her boyfriend's antics. The same could be said for the other kids and Suri.

"Okay…" Talin finished laughing. "So we're headed over to the lake to go swimming. Would you like to join us?"

Marcus shook his head in response. As much as he wanted to play with the kids and the ancient primates, he had a lot of things on his hands. He would need to head back to his workshop to wrap some things up before clocking out for the night. However, he was planning on heading over to the lake for his next experiment.

The engineer not only built the communicator in likeness to Hazel's, but he also adjusted it so that it could withstand being in an aquatic environment. Putting in the necessary additions and properly sealing any gaps on the earpiece proved to be difficult, but he hoped that they would work. In short, he wanted to test to see if it certainly was waterproof.

"Sorry guys, we're kind of busy. Maybe next time?"

Talin nodded. "Okay. We'll, catch you later then!"

The group immediately ran over to the direction of the lake, which was a considerable distance. The men watched them for a few moments before following them in the general direction.

"They're a nice group of folks," Marcus remarked.

Cameron pressed the red button to stop recording then let the camera dangle next to him. His hand held firmly on the handle on top.

"I had no idea what they were saying, but yeah. Hazel made a good choice in picking this herd. I can't wait to start actually talking to them. You better hurry up and make the next batch," Cameron playfully chided.

"Right right," the senior employee dismissed. "You know, I just thought of something."

The cameraman eyed Marcus curiously. "What?"

"It's been at least five weeks since the meteor incident AKA the herd's rescue. Not a lot has happened in the park lately, except for Espantos' shenanigans and Diablo's temper tantrums. It's just been...quiet."

Cameron rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me. You're thinking that something wrong is going to happen?"

The man nodded. "I believe so. Either today, tomorrow, next week, or something. With all the Residents and newcomers in the park now…"

" _Not to mention the budget crisis,"_ he mentally noted.

"Something big is bound to happen soon. Things are never quiet."

Cameron sighed and did not reply to that. He knew too well about the things that happened in the past. The most recent crisis he had that he recorded was one of the titanosaurs freaking out over Rascal's arrival and leading to Matilda's breakout. The park was nearly destroyed, but Nigel managed to get things back in order again. Hearing Marcus say that made him think he jinxed their longtime record of peace.

"We've got over two hundred Residents in the park, including the new herd here, and at least one-hundred staff members. Plus, we have a translator and our security on the predators is state of the art. Everything's fine and dandy," Marcus said with optimism.

Unfortunately for him, trouble was just around the corner.

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Present time…

Aladar came to an abrupt stop once he reached the base of the hill. His head nearly dropped to the ground and panted from the sprint he had performed. His passenger Hazel landed with a grunt next to him and scanned that part of the valley for any signs of a dickish green _Iguanodon_.

While they were rushing back to the valley, the other group of adults that were with them diverted into a different direction towards another part of the valley border to rejoin with the herd. Or in Lethe and Sarge's case, search for their children. Little did any of them know that a certain hyper-carnivore had followed them and had scrambled over to another part of the valley. His presence had frightened away or surprised the other members of the herd. This sort of action had attracted the nearby keepers and prompted them to try and catch the fleet-footed bird.

"Alright, where is that son of a gun?" Hazel gritted her teeth. As she searched for that certain bully, she noticed that the keepers that were taking notes on the members of the herd or keeping tabs on them looked fine. They were devoid of any injuries. Not only that, but a few of them had tranquilizer guns slung over their shoulders. She let out a sigh of relief knowing that no one got hurt.

Aladar perked his head up after regaining his breath to look for him too. "I don't know. That Espantos fellow said he was causing trouble. But everything looks fine from here."

"Maybe he called it a day?" the short-haired human suggested.

Their real answer came in the form of a snort from an unknown individual along with heavy footsteps from their left.

"So...our glorious leader has returned," a deep, demeaning voice said.

Both alpha and human turned to see the last thing they wanted to encounter. Casually stomping towards them was a familiar green, hefty _Iguanodon_ with a scar that ran down his left eye. Like the deceased Kron and Bruton, he had a seemingly permanent grimace on his face. Hazel immediately fell quiet and tensed up at the appearance of the very being that injured her in the past. Aladar on the other hand, while he did not appreciate being so close to this particular member of the herd due to past run-ins and rumors, respectfully acknowledged him with a welcoming demeanor.

"Glad to see you too Nero…" he forced a smile. The dinosaur stopped just a few feet before the duo, which they felt was too close for them.

The forest ornithopod switched his hateful gaze onto the small human that accompanied his superior. His facial expression did not change, but Hazel could feel his threatening aura from where she was.

"And the...vermin is here," Nero scowled at her, making her shoot a hateful glare of her own.

"What the hell do you want? Come to create more problems again?" she spat at him.

Nero huffed then lowered his head to the human then to his leader. "No...in fact, I've come to get rid of the problems. Mainly...what I should have done a long time ago."

"Oh great...what happened now? Did one of the keepers accidentally run over your foot and now you're going to take your anger out on me?" Hazel sarcastically remarked.

"Insult me all you like human," he hissed at her. The girl maintained her cool as she stood in front of the bully. "Nothing will please me more than to turn you into a bloody stain. And I will do that...when I become the alpha of this herd."

The young woman rolled her eyes at him, intending to piss off the assumed rival. "Oh please, you're whining about that again? When are you going to accept the fact that you'll never get it?"

Nero brought his face within mere inches of hers, causing Hazel to take a step back from intimidation. "If you value your life, you will remain quiet."

The young Filipino felt intimidated, but she did her best not to show it to the bully. She took in a deep breath to further keep her cool and watched the dinosaur retreat to focus his attention on the alpha male.

"Aladar, your ways have made the herd weaker than ever before. Stopping or slowing down just to help the weak, helping others when they should only help themselves, coexisting with strangers even after all that has happened, you are only staining the name of the leaders before you by showing weakness!" he retorted with ferocity. His anger was apparent in his tone and the pacing he did back and forth in front of the two.

Except for Hazel, the two ornithischians paid no mind to the growing crowd they were attracting. Various members of the herd, even the keepers that were helping to look after the new Residents, gathered around the opposing dinosaurs. Marcus heard the confrontation from his position near the lake, thus interrupting his experiment to test the water resistance of a communicator he built. The cameraman that was with him diverted the large device's attention away from the engineer to the retreating dinosaurs around them.

"What the hell!?" Marcus exclaimed as he watched the dinosaurs gather at the area behind him.

When both men turned around, they could clearly see about five hundred feet away the gathering mass of dinosaurs. Their curiosity piqued when they heard the faint yells of a young Hazel. They quickly made their way towards the other side of the shore to witness the confrontation.

After muscling through members of the large group of animals, the men managed to get to the front just to see Aladar and Hazel arguing at another _Iguanodon_. After close examination, their eyes widened in shock when they noticed it was the green herbivore that hurt Hazel before. Wanting to know what was going on, Marcus put his new communicator on his right ear and activated it. The groans and grunts from the dinosaurs immediately turned into words.

Around the humans, the herd started to become uneasy from the situation. They knew of Nero; he was always wanting to become the leader. And from the argument they were witnessing, they knew that Nero may be challenging Aladar for that position. The group wisely kept out of the way, which perplexed the keepers that were there.

The other keepers had no idea what was going on, but judging from the actions of the herd, they knew that something big was going to happen. They also noticed that Hazel was involved and became concerned. Whatever was going on between the trio before them, it wasn't good.

"If looking out for others is weakness, then you are the one that's insane here! I am only doing what is best for the herd," Aladar argued, defending his beliefs as a benevolent leader of the herd.

"Your leadership has only turned the herd into bigger targets! I'm sure you've noticed it before; every time we migrate, we only attract more with the slow pace we are going!" Nero rebuked, causing the gathered members of the herd to frown upon him. What they heard next only resulted in cold, angry stares.

"Kron at least had the mind to drive the herd the way he did; sacrificing the few only to save the many."

"Newsflash! The ones he was willing to sacrifice were our friends! And you call nearly killing the herd by forcing them to climb a 90 degree cliff good leadership!? You're out of your mind because look where that led him!" Hazel retaliated and pointed a finger at the dinosaur for a moment as she argued at him.

Hearing that coming from the very human he despised only angered Nero even more. He scowled at her, telling her to back off. While the human backed away from the now irate dinosaur, she still stood her ground next to Aladar. The leader shot his rival a cold expression for treating his friend that way and watched the irritated ornithopod continue with his rant.

"The humans here were the reason why we have lost our home, why you have been out of commission, and why we must survive in this strange land. I can't believe you trust these insignificant creatures!"

"Hazel and the rest of the humans saved us all!" the blue-green _Iguanodon_ defended the very creatures that he befriended in a short amount of time. "We would've been goners if it weren't for them, much less homeless! Can't you see that!?"

"That little human there concealed the secret of the Fireball. She knew the entire time yet you still trust her!?" Nero countered on his belief of the twenty year old betraying them by jeopardizing their safety.

Aladar eyed Hazel, who was now showing a hint of guilt from her previous mistake. She had already been forgiven by everyone in the herd, but bringing that subject up was only making her regret her mistake. Wanting to defend one of his best friends, the alpha took a few steps forward to meet Nero head on.

"Hazel's young, inexperienced, and at times a little stubborn-"

Said human interrupted him when he mentioned those negative connotations.

"HEY!" she responded but then quieted down when she heard Aladar continue on with more pleasant comments.

"But she's also loyal and compassionate. She risked her own neck to make sure we got to safety, twice even!" the dinosaur looked back at the human, causing her face to turn a little red with embarrassment and pride. "I couldn't ask for a better friend than that."

"Well your friend there also put us in a place full of predators!" Nero argued again, causing Aladar to look back at the annoyed herbivore. "She endangered us all by having us live with the very creatures we feared!"

"I've seen the predators here Nero," the sea-colored _Iguanodon_ defended. "Although some of them should be avoided, others are not as bad as you think they are. I believe we can make peace with them."

That one statement mentally offended Nero even more. The thought of herbivores making friends with predators was not only impossible, but insane. The dinosaur gawked at him as if he had lost his mind before speaking.

"Peace!?" he scoffed. "Your skin isn't the only thing you lost when the humans took you. Herbivores and carnivores can never be friends. That is the way!"

"Maybe your way, but not mine. Nero, we have been running from predators all the time. Not all of them are as bad as we think they are. True, predators and herbivores being friends sounds off the beaten path, but perhaps we can coexist with them!"

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While Aladar had been going off about defending his beliefs as leader and trusting the humans, Marcus was doing his best to wrap his head around the whole situation. Hazel only briefly mentioned the green _Iguanodon_ only because of what he did to her weeks ago. Thanks to the new communicator he made, he was able to understand what they were saying. He never expected to witness an argument between an alpha and a rival on his test run.

Next to him, Cameron the cameraman leaned over to him on his right. He paid no mind to his facial expression, as he was focused on the verbal battle ahead.

"Ugh, what is this? Some kind of a yelling contest? What are they saying?" he asked him, which he apparently noticed the communicator in his ear.

"From what I can glean from the situation," Marcus started in a stressed tone while trying to keep his voice down. "Nero, the green one over there, wants to become leader of the herd. Looks like he wants to challenge Aladar here, who's the current alpha. Dude's pretty pissed off about how he's running things and wants to take the reins."

"So...this is just an argument over dominance? I guess that would explain why the herd is gathering," Cameron correctly deduced.

The engineer then let out a sigh and revealed the other half of the conversation. "That's...not the entire situation though. He um...also hates us humans here, especially Hazel. Mostly because of her not telling the herd about the meteor strike. If this turns into a full-blown battle, then the outcome would determine what would happen to us."

He swallowed to wet his throat and then continued, fear beginning to build up in his gut. "If Aladar wins, then Nero will back off and everything will be fine and dandy. But if Nero wins...we're going to need to do something to keep him away from everybody here. Should that prick there succeed, then the staff here is at the top of his kill list."

"WHAT!?" the man shrieked, which attracted the dinosaurs around them and caused them to look at the two humans.

"Shush!" Marcus stressed to him and focused on the event before them. Apparently the two _Iguanodons_ and lone human paid no mind to the surprised keeper's outburst.

"I want to hear the rest of this. But make sure you get everything."

Both cameraman and engineer exhaled shakily and watched the battle unfold before them. The dinosaurs continued to exchange angry bellows, barks, and grunts to those who could not understand them. As for Hazel, she was yelling her head off at the hefty herbivore on his beliefs and his judgement of the humans.

Marcus wanted to just pull Hazel out of argument and settle the dispute diplomatically. But he knew that if he intervened, he would be risking his life as well. Heck, he may end up just like Hazel and be sent to the hospital just for trying to quell the argument. There was also the fact that this was not his fight and that it was one he nor everyone around him should be involved with. Deep down, Marcus prayed that the budding leader would make it out unscathed.

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As the minutes passed, the conflict between the ornithopods and human escalated. With each defense Aladar and Hazel came up with, the more ornery Nero got. Back and forth, the argument went and it appeared to be only adding fuel to the flames. From how things were appearing, each backtalk only worsened the situation.

"That hairless pest and her kind have tainted your mind with their ways! No wait...you already have been insane from the start! The herd shouldn't be following an insane wreck that relies on advice from inferiors, they should be following me!" Nero argued, revealing his true intentions of wanting to become a ruthless dictator.

"Oh shut up Nero!" Hazel exploded at the irritated dinosaur. Her outburst surprised all around her, even Aladar. "We don't want to hear about your bullshit opinions! You're just trying to make us look bad just so you can have a shot at being a leader!"

The girl's verbal attack at the leader wannabee angered him even more. The nerves in his mind were throbbing nonstop and his rage was building. Since the day he first met Hazel, he felt nothing but disgust at the human for her compassionate ways, just like Aladar. The way she stuck up for the children and how the elders ganged up on him for his survival of the fittest motif insulted his name, even his idol Kron. The fury inside of him went overboard when she burst with the next bits of her lecture.

"And by the sound of things, the way you want to lead the herd would only lead them to a predator's stomach! All you care about is power and authority. Being a leader isn't about being on top of the world, it's about putting others before you and making the right decisions that would benefit everyone! You on the other hand couldn't care less if anybody died! Face it you son of a bitch, you're not leader material at all!"

Hazel's retort to Nero was like someone flinging a hornet's nest to the face. The forest ornithischian stormed over and proceeded to stomp the little human into a pulp. Hazel gasped when she realized what she had done. She backed up in fear and prepared to run away.

But her chance to run never came as Aladar used his body to push the angry rival back. With a roar and with the strength he had, the alpha overturned Nero and slammed him into the ground on his side. He then backed away, still in his defensive position, towards the frightened Hazel.

"Hazel get back!" Aladar warned her.

"Aladar are you crazy!? Your wounds haven't fully healed!" she screamed at what her friend was about to do. Right in front of them, Nero was getting back onto his feet and preparing to counterattack.

"This is my fight Hazel!" the blue-green _Iguanodon_ reasoned while still eyeing his opponent, who was just about ready to ram into him with a charge. "I have to do this!"

"Are you sure?" the human voiced in earnest.

"A leader can't turn down a challenge. If I back out, then that'll show I'm a coward. And that wouldn't make things any better."

As much as she was against the idea of allowing one of her best friends to fight in his current condition, Hazel could not say no. Because he was the leader, she knew that there would be times where someone would want to take his place. Especially when it came to Nero, who always wanted that position. She wanted to stay and fight Nero herself, but that would be foolish on her act. Like Aladar, she had recently gotten out of a medical facility and her wounds were still in the process of healing. While her body had been healing for the past few weeks, Aladar's burns were much worse than her broken bones.

She let out a reluctant sigh and nodded. "Kick his ass big guy."

Aladar looked back at the human and gave her a reassuring smile. He watched as she ran off in the other direction to get out of the makeshift ring. When she caught sight of Marcus and one of the cameramen, she took her place next to them to watch the fight unfold. Her ribs hurt a little from rushing over to them, but she paid no mind to the sensation due to the event about to take place.

"Oh man...Nigel had better give me a raise once I show this to him!" the crewman that was videotaping everything blurted out.

Just a few ways from them, a certain pink and lavender _Iguanodon_ managed to muscle her way past a couple of _Styracosaurus_ and a few other _Iguanodons_. The alpha female gasped when she saw her mate and his rival circling each other, preparing to attack. Coming in from above was Flia, who landed just at Neera's right. The pterosaur was just as horrified as the ornithopod at the fight.

"Aladar!" Neera hollered and was about to storm forward to stop the battle.

Her attempt was stopped when Nero roared at her threateningly.

"You stay out of this! If you interfere, then the humans and the inhabitants of this valley will be the first to go!"

Hazel and Marcus turned stiff at the mention of their possible fate. This guy was not only crazy, he was insane! Not to mention he was willing to become a genocidal machine just for sticking up for his beliefs. The two glanced at each other for a moment before back at the battling herbivores.

"Oh good God…" Hazel breathed out in dismay. "Marcus, I hope we have at least a solitary pen for him."

"Uh...we never really thought of that before," he nervously chuckled.

The girl turned her attention to the slightly guilt-stricken engineer. Of all the times to not have an empty pen, did it have to be now? She gave him a cold look before they returned their gaze to the confronting males before them.

"Nero, we don't have to do this," Aladar tried to reason with him to avoid going down the violent path.

"Quiet!" Nero bellowed at his rival. "I should have done this a long time ago! The role of leader is mine and mine alone!"

"I won't let you hurt Hazel or any of the humans here!"

The green _Iguanodon_ let out a snort and then charged towards his opponent. Rage burned in his eyes like an inferno as he stormed over to the herd alpha. Aladar did the same as well in order to defend his friends and his new home.

"So be it!" Nero roared.

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Martha sighed as she traversed the herd plains. She and the rest of the elephant herd never really explored this part of the park, mostly because the vegetation that was once here did not support their massive diets. Their own grounds were still large enough to support one or two elephant herds and had enough food for them, especially when a number of them were provided by the keepers. So there really was no need to venture too far from the park because they wanted to stay with the keepers that cared for them and of the amiable resources provided.

Now that there was a large influx of Rift Creatures from that time weeks ago, the herd became even more wary about venturing to the new area. True, Aladar and Neera's herd have been in the valley for weeks, but just like with the mammoth's own situation in settling in to the new time and gaining membership into Mujaji's herd, the insecurity couldn't be resolved within a short amount of time. Martha understood their plight on the matter and knew it would take time for everyone to get used to everything.

Nevertheless, that did not stop her from making bridges with the newcomers. Over the past few weeks, Martha had been slowly getting acquainted with the new herd in the park. Through Mikiya's new friendship with Neera's daughters, the megafauna found herself amongst a peculiar new group of friends.

Plio and her family were surprised to see the mammoth, but after learning that she was a mammal as well, they embraced the fact that they were not alone. Even the youngster named Suri found her trunk as a good slide to use.

Eema the _Styracosaurus_ reminded her of the elder members of her herd from years ago; having wisdom from her many years yet having a hint of sass. As for Baylene, she was a sight to behold. Never before had the Ice Age denizen encountered another that was bigger than herself, save for the _Borealosaurus_ that would sometimes wander the park on some occasions. Peering through the sauropod's massive size, Martha could see a gentle giant that cared about her friends' well-being, along with the herds. The mammoth also realized what it was like for others to be looking up to her; staring up at one bigger in size made her feel small.

Url was a conundrum, but the pachyderm could not help but compare the ankylosaur to Espantos the Terror Bird, except cuter and with the hyper activeness taken down to a minimal level.

Martha was intrigued at meeting Flia the _Pteranodon_. Other than her strange appearance, hearing the pterosaur tell the mammoth stories of her past exploits as a scout for the herd only brought about more questions than answers. Martha would always ask about what flying was like, which caused Flia to gladly describe her home domain. The flyer also explained about how she met Hazel, their recent adventure with the herd during the previous migration, all the way to the recent events that took place. Martha could not help but gawk at Flia; this herd had been through so much over the years, even narrowly escaping destruction twice. Then again, the mammoths in her time were struggling to survive in harsh conditions as well.

The _Iguanodon_ sisters did introduce their brothers and their friends at some point in time. Talin was headstrong and almost always spoke for his troupe, making him the leader. Charon, the young _Parasaurolophus_ of the quartet, would correct her friends sometimes on the littlest details. However, she was also loyal and intelligent, making her the sister-figure. Then there was Tirech the _Pachyrhinosaurus_. The ceratopsian was adorable in a lot of aspects; his appearance, accent, tough-guy personality and childlike innocence. Lastly, there was young Alden. Timid, sensitive, yet polite, he reminded the mammoth of Hazel when she first arrived in the park. The little keeper was very intimidated at the sight of the megafauna at first, but then enjoyed her company after a few visits.

Finally, there was Aladar. Although Martha had yet to meet the alpha male, she heard from Neera on what he was like. He was benevolent, strong-willed, and would not hesitate in helping a friend in need. From what the mammoth heard, the leader was unlike any other member of the large prehistoric group. Martha was told that he braved the destruction of his original home, helped his friends in crossing the desert to their Nesting Grounds, fought off multiple predators, and safely guided the herd back to their home. When the topic of him standing up to the previous leader arose, courtesy of Zini, Martha noticed a hint of sorrow in Neera's eyes. It was then that she remembered the alpha female mentioning the previous leader was her brother. The mammoth consoled the downtrodden female and lifted her spirits with sympathetic words. Neera's moment of depression was also alleviated when the girls started playing with Suri and Url.

Speaking of children, the mammoth was once again in charge of watching over them while Mujaji tended to the elephant herd. When the young elephant calf heard that the triplets' family friends went on a tour of the park, she wanted to see the valley as well. A few months before, the elephant herd was not able to visit the expanded portion of the park for some apparent reason. When the recent herd arrived, however, the valley's reservation became apparent. Now Mikiya wanted to explore the new portion of the park, and the triplets were happy to oblige.

Going through the Valley sector of the park felt like going through a whole other world. The tall grasses that swayed with the wind, the crystal blue lake, the unknown plants that Martha had never seen before in the forest, it was hard for her to believe that Neera and this herd came from a home like this. It was too beautiful to comprehend.

But going through the valley also caused some curiosity and uneasiness to arise among the herd. A number of the members would either back away or stare incredulously at the two pachyderms in their presence. Some even whispered in their friends' ears about their sudden appearance. Mikiya was not paying any sort of attention to their reactions, as she was busy keeping up with the lavender, jade, and pink colored _Iguanodon_ girls. However, Martha could not help but feel self-conscious around the newcomers as they continued their blatant stares. Seeing their expressions reminded her of when she was first being introduced to Mujaji's herd.

Nothing really much happened in the tour. The triplets would show their favorite places to eat, where they sleep, and some members of the herd they liked to hang out with. The small group even briefly met up with two young _Iguanodon_ boys while they were walking around. The youngsters were a year older than the alpha female's daughters and were easy to tell apart even though they were twins.

Nolan, the eldest, had a terracotta skin tone on parts of his body than his lighter hued brother Rowyn and had more of a build. In contrast, Rowyn was smaller and leaner in appearance than his twin. The boys were polite, just like Maya and her sisters and were prepared with a ton of questions about the park and of Martha herself.

The conversation lasted quite a bit, but ended when the boys were called over by one of the female _Iguanodons_ a short distance away. The girls briefly told the pachyderms that Nolan and Rowyn were orphans and that Neera took them in shortly after their parents died in a predator attack. For a time, they stayed with the girls' mother and Aladar until a female named Naomi along with her mate Embo volunteered to take the boys in. When the alphas heard that the couple's eggs never made it due to the harshness of the previous migration, they could not help but feel sorry for them.

The strangers were polite to the boys and gradually got to know them first before announcing their proclamation to the kids. At first, they were reluctant at going with the new adults, but happily agreed when Aladar and Neera gently persuaded them. Both alphas felt bad about giving up the boys, as they were like their own children. At the same time, they wanted to help the couple with their loss. So allowing them to adopt the boys was the best way to go. Besides, they already bonded within a short amount of time and they could visit whenever they wanted. All of which had happened before Hazel came back to them.

Martha was deep in thought about that recent meeting. She felt sympathy for that family, as she had lost a herd mate of her own years ago. However, she found a new family through Nigel. Before she could dwell more on the subject, a bleating sound echoed from nearby them. The small group turned their attention to the culprit, which turned out to be one of the pachycephalosaurs.

"Everyone! Come quick!" a young _Stygimoloch_ announced after running across the valley to get to where the rest of the herd was. "Nero's challenging Aladar for leadership of the herd!"

All of the dinosaurs looked at each other in complete surprise before bolting towards the other end of the valley. Pretty soon, everyone was leaving the premises, leaving just the mammoth, the elephant calf, and the _Iguanodon_ girls behind.

Maya, Kaya, and Saya glanced at each other with shocked expressions. Hearing that their father was about to go into a battle horrified them. He had just returned to them the day before and was still recovering from the wounds he got from the Fireball. Learning that he was about to go up against a prick like Nero worried them greatly.

"Hey, what's up with everybody?" Mikiya remarked when she noticed the herd making their way west to the valley borders. "Is there some kind of a party?"

Maya answered that with a shake of her head. "No…it's worse than that."

"Maya," Martha called out to the youngster that was in front of her. The lavender ornithopod turned back to meet the megafauna. "Isn't Aladar the name of your father?"

The other two girls turned their attention to the mammoth that said their dad's name. All three of them gravely nodded.

"Oh dear…" the furry pachyderm shuddered. Her eyes widened with deep concern. "This can't be good."

"Martha, Daddy's wounds haven't completely healed yet! If we don't get over there, Nero's going to kill him!" Kaya urged with a few tears in her eyes.

"We have to stop them!" Saya pleaded then paced back and forth in circles.

Martha nodded in agreement then faced the edge of the valley off in the distance. "Then let's get over there."

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A few minutes later…

Eema, Url, and Baylene watched in confusion as the entire herd made their way to the edge of the valley that bordered the neighboring elephant grounds. They returned from a recent visit to their new friends within the park and were just about to get a drink from the lake when the herd got into a frenzy. A lone _Stygimoloch_ was yelling something incoherently and none of them could make it out.

"My word, whatever is wrong with everybody?" the _Brachiosaurus_ gasped as she was maneuvering out of the way of an incoming group of _Struthiomimus and Microceratus_. She took extra care with each step in making sure she did not step on anyone.

"No idea hun," Eema told her and then faced the gathering crowd just a few hundred feet from their position. "But I bet it's got something to do with that gathering crowd over there."

Sure enough, the gathering crowd had attracted the attention of the elders. Whatever was happening, it was making the herd go crazy. The old women and ankylosaur glanced at each other for a moment before making their way over to the gathering. They did not make it far when they were stopped by a strange trumpeting sound. The trio looked back to see the incoming forms of two pachyderms, five _Iguanodons_ , a young _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , a _Parasaurolophus_ , and four lemurs coming towards them.

"Baylene! Eema! What's going on?" Plio, who had arrived there seconds before everyone else, questioned the elders. Behind her, the other three lemurs stopped close to her.

The sauropod and ceratopsian had noticed the odd, matted appearance of the younger lemurs' fur. The hair was flat and dripping wet, making them look like walking wet mats rather than prehistoric primates. Eema was about to ask why they appeared this way when the young white lemur answered that question.

"We were just playing in the lake when we noticed everybody running to this part of the valley," Aya mentioned while she groomed her tail in an attempt to dry herself off.

"And we were just touring the valley when it happened as well," Martha seconded.

The _Brachiosaurus_ shook her head then lowered herself down to their level. "I am not quite sure dears, but Eema and I were about to investigate."

"Well whatever it is," Tirech started and started running over to the gathering crowd of dinosaurs. "It's making everybody go nuts!"

"Hey wait!" Talin hollered and ran after his buddy. "Wait for me!"

Right when Talin left the group, everyone else followed suit. It took some effort for the children to muscle their way through crowded adults and other kids. The only one left behind the wall of herd members was Url, but that was because Eema told him to do so. The youngsters and the lemurs had to push and shove the others just to get to where they were going. Dodging the stomps and sudden movements of the adults proved to be a challenge. The youngest ones, Alden and Saya, had a little trouble doing so due to their small stature, but then made it to the front with the help from their other friends. The lemurs had an easier time due to their nimble movements and their smaller size. Getting to the front was easy, but what they were witnessing within the circle was another challenge altogether.

Clashing with their bodies and swiping each other with their thumb spikes were Nero and Aladar. While their wounds do not look very bad at the moment, their beautiful hides were beginning to become stained by the new injuries.

"Hey wait!" Charon gasped at the sight and glanced at the leader's son next to her. "Isn't that your dad fighting Nero?"

"Sure is. About time he taught that bully a lesson. Get him Dad!" Talin cheered from the sidelines.

"Kick his butt Aladar!" Tirech seconded, jumping in excitement.

The _Iguanodon_ girls all rolled their eyes at their cheering comments. They were not fans of any violence, but they did fear for the blue-green _Iguanodon's_ life. Even though they were young, they had learned from the adults that fights for leadership did end in death, but those were only rare cases. As much as they wanted the fight to stop, they did not want to step in fear of getting caught in the crossfire, whether it was accidental or not.

The elders had seen prior fights for dominance in their long years as well. Unfortunately, they never expected their benevolent friend to be caught in a battle like this. Especially when his opponent was the scoundrel Nero. They knew better than to interfere in something like this, but the same could not be said for the mammals that were with them.

Mikiya, who was the last to arrive, but only because Martha was trying to prevent her from seeing it, managed to squeeze in between the legs of a group of _Parasaurolophus_. At first, she bore a smile on her face for overcoming that minor obstacle. Then, her cheerful expression turned into one of complete astonishment. The little pachyderm had never seen a full-out fight before, and she never expected it to come from creatures that were bigger than her.

"Whoa…" she uttered softly then fell silent.

"Mikiya get back here!" Martha urged her adopted niece to fall back.

If the little elephant heard her aunt's order, she gave no indication. Her eyes were too fixed on the fight that was going on before her. The megafauna muscled her way past various herd members, who moved away at the sight of her. This enabled the Ice Age denizen along with the elders to get a better view of the fight, and thus be with their friends. Martha did her best to reach for her niece's tail, but her fidgety movements had made it difficult for her to get a hold of the calf. As a result, she released a frustrated groan and gave up in that effort.

Things had gotten even more interesting when a certain yellow and black avian muscled his way to the front next to the little pachyderm. Neither of the other herd members paid any mind to him when he did that due to the brawl. Mikiya and the other kids jumped in surprise at Espantos' sudden appearance, but then returned their attention to the fight. The Terror Bird looked on with interest before speaking out with a grin.

"Wow! Who knew we'd have brawls in the valley?" he commented offhandedly to Mujaji's calf. Mikiya did not reply back because she was so into the fight. Espantos lifted his mini wings up in an equivalent to a human shrugging his shoulders before cheering.

"FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" he squawked out.

The present day mammal next to him gave him an approving glance before joining in as well. "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!"

The cheers coming from the children and Espantos had also attracted the attention of two certain humans, a fuschia _Iguanodon_ , and a _Pteranodon_ that was just a few feet from them. They stared in shock at the sight of the youngsters that had suddenly appeared next to them.

"Kids! Espantos! What are you doing here!?" Hazel screamed at them. Knowing that the fight was going to get bloody soon, she was horrified to see the youngsters standing within the gathered crowd of dinosaurs. And Espantos encouraging the fight only made things worse as well. Being an opportunistic predator, the _Phorusrhacos_ would be more than happy for the violence to continue and escalate, as long as he had a chance to scavenge the carcass of the loser when it was all over.

Unfortunately, the Terror Bird and the elephant were not paying any attention at all to the others around them. They were so engrossed in the fight that their cheers overpowered Hazel's call to them. The girl made a mental note to deal with Espantos later for being a bad influence to Mikiya today.

"We wanted to see what was going on!" Tirech replied to the woman.

"Hazel you have to stop them from fighting!" Kaya urged her. Tears were welling from her yellow eyes. "Daddy's going to get killed if nothing is done!"

"Kaya is right!" a motherly voice echoed from behind. The source came from a white and brown furred lemur that had arrived. The matriarch along with her family set themselves in front of the group and gestured with her hands to the fight and at them. "If nothing is done, then they'll both die!"

"Hazel, I'd have to agree with them on this!" Marcus added then turned back to watch the fight. He glanced to his side to see that Cameron was busy recording the whole thing. Not only that, but the keepers around the battling ornithopods were too fixated on the fight itself rather than trying to stop it. Some of them had tranquilizers too, in case they were attacked by Nero as per Nigel's precaution previously, but did not have the mind on stopping the fight and instead were cheering on the battling dinosaurs. The engineer then looked back at Hazel with urgency. The girl looked at him indifferently as he continued his plight.

"If this gets out of hand, then we're going to have one or more casualties here!"

"Plio, Marcus, I don't think any of us can stop them!" the Asian shook her head regretfully. Her eyes deviated back to the fight when she noticed Nero letting out another loud roar. He had just swiped at Aladar for his neck, but luckily, the alpha dodged it by sidestepping.

"WHAT!?" Aladar's adopted mother and the engineer shrieked. She put her hands on her head as a result of that terrible truth. As for Marcus, he threw his hands up in frustration.

"That's it!" the man shouted and took out his black walkie-talkie hanging from his belt. "I'm calling this in!"

"Marcus no!" Hazel placed her hand on the radio and then yanked it away from him. The man eyed her incredulously.

"Hazel are you crazy!?"

"Just trust me on this!" the woman pleaded.

The man silently watched her for a moment. Her eyes radiated fear and determination. Marcus knew that look from her; it meant that she was serious on her words. He did try to object to her in the past on small matters, but whenever he tried to counteract her, Hazel would just give him that look. It was like a mother was silently scolding her child on a bad act. Marcus shuddered at her searing stare and let out a breath. The girl nodded, returned the radio to him, and then looked over at her _Pteranodon_ partner, who was reasoning with the lemurs and Marcus himself.

"This is a fight for leadership. It's not something where we can intervene in," Flia interjected, supporting her best friend's words. "This fight must be done by Aladar alone. He is the only one that can resolve this!

"But that's my big brother out there!" Suri cried, her eyes now getting watery. "He's going to get hurt!"

"What about before? When Neera stopped Kron from killing Aladar!?" Plio protested. "Can't we do something like that!?"

"Kron wouldn't listen to reason and Aladar didn't challenge him from the start!" Flia argued at the lemur. "Besides, the leadership automatically went to him when Kron perished at the cliff and when the herd was brought to the Nesting Grounds!"

A loud groan was heard from the back. The source was a woolly mammoth who had shaken her head in frustration. Everyone turned around to see the now irritated megafauna take a step back and count on the ground with a foot. Even Eema and Baylene were surprised at the outburst their large mammal companion made. A deep and threatening rumble emanated from the Ice Age mammal's chest. Being familiar with elephant behavior, these were all signs of Martha preparing to charge and trample any and all threats. And her sights were set on the two warring _Iguanodon_ males in front of her. In desperation, Hazel retreated to the back and outstretched her arms in a blocking gesture.

"Hazel get out of the way!" Martha commanded with a swipe of her trunk to the side.

"Martha, don't do it! This isn't our fight! We can't intervene!" Hazel tried to reason. Unfortunately, the mammoth wouldn't take it.

"I do not care! Someone is going to get hurt if nothing is done! This violence threatens my Matriarch's Sisterhood and everyone else. If you think I am going to sit idly by and let this fight continue, you are sorely mistaken!" she protested, raising her trunk to let loose an ear-shattering trumpet-call. The mammoth was about to charge when the young woman rushed up to push her back; using all of her strength to grapple with Martha's foreleg. The mere surprise of Hazel's sudden contact, as opposed to the girl's actual strength of her foolish action, prompted the ancient elephant to stop.

"Martha, I know how you feel," Neera said as she rushed over to the near ballistic elephant. "But it's the rules of the herd. Things like this have occurred in the past multiple times. As much as I want the fight to stop, it's the only way for the leader to defend his position or pass it on."

Martha watched the female _Iguanodon_ and the human silently. Something in the back of her mind told her that they were at an impasse. Trying to stop them and barreling into the fight wouldn't solve anything. She then eyed Plio, Zini, Suri, and Aya. They watched her with fear in their eyes; both for everyone and Aladar.

The mammoth sighed and nodded. "Very well, but you had better have something in mind if this does not go well."

Hazel eyed her reassuringly then placed a hand on her trunk. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

"So we're just going to sit here and do nothing!?" Zini exploded, causing everyone to look at him.

"Guys, I know this looks bad. But we have to abide by the rules. This is Aladar's fight and his alone," the human told them.

"Fine but if any one of them gets seriously hurt, our heads will be on a platter," Marcus told her then turned around to watch the fight continue.

The entire group observed each other in silence. Neither of them liked the idea of staying out of the fight. But it was one of the rules of leadership. Only the leader has the capability to stop this sort of conflict, whether it would be through his win or loss. The group hurried over to their spots at the fighting ring to watch their friend defend his role as leader. In their minds, they prayed for the better outcome of the battle.

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The atmosphere in this part of the valley became even tenser as the minutes wore on. Aladar and Nero circled around each other, neither of which were avoiding eye contact. Those around them could do nothing but watch as their leader stared down his oppressor. Neera's interference during their last migration on her brother occurred because he would not listen to reason. But now, this was an actual fight for leadership of the herd. Each member, including Baylene, Eema, Neera, and Flia, knew better than to interfere.

"You know, you're going to have to kill me to win," Nero scorned at his enemy. "You get rid of me, then you won't have to worry about your position being taken."

Aladar shook his head and narrowed his eyes even more. "I'm not like you."

"Very well then!" he let out a roar and charged at the benevolent ornithopod once more.

Both _Iguanodons_ collided with a brute force that was as loud as a car crash. The impact they created sounded as if bones were broken. The herbivores constantly bellowed at each other as they stabbed and scratched each other with the spikes on their hooves.

"Come on Aladar!" Hazel cheered with a fist in the air. "Send that dumbass packing!"

"Take him down!" Talin went next on Hazel's right.

"You can do it Daddy!" Alden screamed at his loudest, which surprised those around him. The group looked over at the child who was cheering on his father, who was now cheering for him at Hazel's left.

"AY EL AY!" Espantos and Mikiya cheered. "DEE AY AR! WHAT DOES THAT SPELL? ALADAR!"

After letting that out, the _Phorusrhacos_ cocked his head when he noticed Aladar making a swipe for his opponent's neck instead of his face. What he was witnessing only confused him instead.

"Why isn't he 'Strike-Tagging' the meanie-greenie in the face?" he blurted out to apparently himself as he clicked his beak with a snap. No one around him were paying any attention to that comment. As a Terror Bird, his species were used to driving their beaks into their foe's skulls or eyes in a fight. However, from what he was seeing, the two fighters were not doing any of that. Heck, they were not even using their own heads to attack! "Aladar needs to get some distance, and then charge and strike Knee-rows' head for a swift execution! That's what I would do!"

Espantos looked around him, only to see Hazel, her friends, and the rest of the herd engrossed in the brawl. Moments passed and the bird realized that they were not much in a talkative mood due to what was happening. He let out a warbled huff before cheering once again with Mikiya. The both of them thought of the same cheer coincidentally.

"Ali, Ali he's our guy! Do your best! GOUGE OUT HIS EYE!" he and the elephant screamed at the top of their lungs.

That comment had apparently attracted the burly green _Iguanodon_ in the ring. He turned his head over at the idiotic avian and gave him a most menacing sneer. Nero's look sent shivers down his spine. Not an easy feat, considering the ten-foot tall bird hailed from a species that literally had the word _terror_ attached to its name.

"QUIET!" he commanded. Right when he said that, a stray thumb spike managed to nick away at his cheek. Drops of blood slowly fell down his new wound. Nero snapped his head back at Aladar and collided with him again.

Espantos immediately went quiet while Mikiya backed away in fear. She hid behind the legs of the Terror Bird and started shaking like a leaf. Although she and the predator were scared now, they still wanted to see the fight. And see it they did, because now things were getting messy.

Crimson blood trickled down from their wounds on their shoulders, chest, and arms like a viscous fountain. Nero's assaults were giving the blue-green giant stab wounds above his left shoulder, a few scratches on most of his body, and even a large gash that ran down half of his neck.

With each hit came a scream of pain through the alpha male's body. His injuries he obtained from the ash cloud before were still sensitive, even though they were mostly healed. Now, due to the battle he was in, he could feel the stinging of Nero's attacks along with the jolt of agony from the multiple burns on his back. The dinosaur had to shut his eyes in order to block them out, but even that did nothing to stop the sensation.

Both dinosaurs broke off by a few feet and then stared at each other, now standing antiparallel to the other. Blood was now oozing out of their wounds even more from the new blows they dealt. Aladar and Nero were now breathing heavily from the attacks they performed, but neither were about to give up so easily.

The sea colored ornithopod turned then attempted to slam his body weight against the hefty opponent, but fell short when Nero dodged out of the way with a sidestep. Aladar's own move sent him crashing into the ground, causing bits of grass and dirt to fly up.

The burly oppressor let out another roar, took a few steps forward and raised his hoof for a killing blow. Aladar saw this from his peripheral vision and rolled out of the way as the foot came down with a slam.

The leader then quickly got up and used his body strength again to slam into Nero. During that process, he tried to slam his right hoof into his neck area to cause some serious damage. However, the adversary's quick movements and thrashing made it difficult for the _Iguanodon_ to land a proper hit. His spike did nick some portions of his target, but they were not enough to cause serious damage.

As Aladar was attacking, Nero noticed the large dark splotch on his foe's back. He smirked deviously and raised his hoof up. With a yell, he grabbed onto his opponent's body and slammed his spike into the middle of Aladar's posterior, causing the dinosaur to scream out in intense pain from the bone being driving into one of the worst of his burns. The alpha ceased his attacks as a result. The green ornithopod then took his hoof away and stabbed him again and again, making Aladar roar out in constant agony. Blood was once again dripping down from that part of his body.

Horrified at the sight, Neera and Flia had to close their eyes and look away. Talin, Alden, their sisters, Mikiya, Charon and Tirech had stopped their cheering when they saw what was happening to Aladar. Plio even had to shield Suri from the jarring clash, but she could do nothing about her daughter's constant screaming. Neither of them could stand to see their father, mate, and friend suffer at the hooves of one like Nero. The elders, Martha, Aya, and Zini could not do anything but watch as their friend suffered from the enduring punishment.

Marcus and Cameron had remained silent during the whole thing. The cameraman's hands were shaking while he witnessed the leader getting stabbed repeatedly. They, and the rest of the keepers, knew that fights over dominance could become bloody, but neither of them expected it to occur on sentient dinosaurs.

Hazel was disturbed by it as well. Seeing one of her best friends go through this kind of torture pushed her defensive instincts even more. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she watched on.

"Aladar!" she screamed his name.

Upon hearing his own name, the dinosaur broke away from the lock with a violent shake and then attempted to land another hit on Nero with his hoof. That attack was thwarted by a quick tail swipe made by the rival on his body.

Aladar landed with a grunt; the impact of a 3 ton dinosaur slightly shook the earth a bit. Everyone around them gasped at what had happened. Seeing their leader and friend being brought down to his knees turned the battle into a nightmare.

The leader put his legs under him and tried to get up. But the strain of his wounds interfered with that action, which was also coupled with the ever-growing fatigue from the battle. Aladar shakily tried to get up from the ground, but only ended up landing back onto the grass with a thump. The blood from his wounds had not dripped onto the ground, creating dark red splotches.

"Oh my God…" Hazel shakily cried out and then hollered at him with her loudest voice. "COME ON ALADAR! DON'T GIVE UP NOW!"

"Get up Dad! Don't let him win!" Talin pleaded to his injured father. His eyes began to fill up with tears as he kept watching one of his parents on the ground in his beaten state.

"Please Daddy!" Kaya cried out, now starting to cry as well.

"Get back on your feet!" Zini cheered from his high vantage point on Baylene's head. He jumped multiple times on the sauropod's nose and kept throwing his fist up in the air. The yellow-furred lemur may appear supportive on the outside, but on the inside, he was hurting like his friends around him.

Aladar heard the pleas of his friends and family and obliged. With another try, he lifted himself up, although shakily. While he was doing so, Nero snorted and sauntered over to his opponent. With a strong stomp, he drove one of his hooves onto the leader's back, causing him to fall to the ground once more. Aladar let out a yell as the force from the push pained his body.

"So…this is all the fight you can muster? This is your true strength?" Nero hissed while holding Aladar down.

"Pathetic. Your wounds were a liability from the start. You only defeated Kron the last time because you had outside help. If this is the best you've got, then why is the herd listening to a weakling from the likes of you? I am stronger and more fit than you."

He then took a step forward and drove the hoof onto Aladar's neck, once again pinning him in place. The dinosaur gagged at the makeshift choke-hold and his breathing turned labored. He slowly looked back at his captor and watched him with fear in his eyes.

"And unlike you…I do not need the help of anyone," Nero sneered at him after lowering his head down to whisper in his ear.

The irate herbivore's words angered the leader even more. Aladar struggled under Nero's hold, but doing so only caused the injuries he sustained to become worse. Jolts of stinging agony went through his body and especially on his back with each squirm. The dinosaur let out groans as a result. His struggle only made Nero smile in amusement.

"Give up Aladar," Nero chuckled. "The more you struggle, the worse you'll become. The herd doesn't need one like you. Compassion is weakness. Weakness leads to death."

The alpha let out a sharp breath to retort to that statement, but no words came out of his mouth.

"There is only survival. To survive in the world, one must only look out for themselves. To go back to help the weak will only lead to your own destruction. And if you do that, everyone else will follow, and they will become vulnerable to attacks. Face it, you are more of a hindrance to the herd than an alpha," the rival derided at his opponent.

Finally, Nero let go of Aladar. The dinosaur took a few steps back before turning to walk away; the bloody from his wounds fell like sweat, but in small amounts. The herd watched him incredulously at how he subdued the alpha leader. Hazel and the rest of her friends could only gape at what had just occurred. Their eyes were filled with dread at the sight of the leader on the ground, nearly covered in his own blood. Tears welled up in their eyes at the thought of Aladar losing.

Even Neera, who was used to seeing her brother battle rivals in the past, began to break on the inside. Her own love losing at the hooves of a tyrant like Nero was something she could not bear. Her face radiated distress and silently begged her mate to keep going.

"Get up Aladar…" Hazel once again pleaded; tears now running down her eyes continuously.

"Oh shit," Marcus cursed while he stared at the fallen dinosaur. "Come on buddy, don't listen to that asshole! He's just screwing around with you. Come on, get up!"

The fallen alpha turned back to look at his friends and family. He looked at every one of their gazes at his position. Seeing them like that only made him think of a future with Nero being the leader. The lemurs would most likely be brought to their knees, the herd would be driven mercilessly, his family along with the other Residents would suffer abuse, and the humans in the valley would suffer extinction.

His eye ridges furrowed in determination. Aladar would not stand for a future like that. Nero as a leader would not lead the herd, but only drive them into darkness. With one last ounce of his energy, he strained under his weight as he lifted himself up.

Murmurs and gasps came from around the makeshift ring of dinosaurs and keepers. Their eyes widened in shock at what was happening. Nero noticed their change in expressions and turned around to see what caused them to react. His face turned into one of slight bewilderment as his fallen opponent was getting back onto his feet.

Aladar was panting, his breathing turning short with each ounce of agony going through his body. Emerald green eyes stared down at the steely black eyes of his opponent. Blood continued to drip profusely from his wounds, but he was not about to let up.

"Well, seems like you are wishing for a death sentence rather than accepting defeat," Nero huffed.

"I'll never give up Nero. So long as there is still life in me, I will never stop fighting!" Aladar thundered with determination.

"Then come at me," the burly ornithopod taunted. "Fight so that I can knock you down again!"

The persistent cerulean male let out a roar before charging up to his miffed opponent. Nero shook his head and charged as well. The two collided with the same amount of force that would squish a car.

The cheers from Team Aladar resumed with a thunderous roar. The children, Espantos, even Hazel, shouted the loudest. Cameron, who remained silent the whole time while recording, had the urge to cheer as well. The young crewman had the strong urge to join the cheering squad after seeing this battle. He may not know what was going on now, but he wanted the benevolent dinosaur to win this one.

Both of the males in the ring fought mercilessly once more; with Aladar fighting on the defensive as he knocked away his enemy's hoof with a violent shake from his body and Nero fighting on the offensive. The sea colored alpha then switched his tactics after a while on causing more damage on Nero's body. With both of his spikes, he managed to land blows on the rival's neck and shoulders. Nero's focus on injuring Aladar turned on the state of his own body; he screamed out as one of the spikes imbedded into the lower portion of his neck.

With his opponent now distracted, the leader used this chance to gain the upper hand. He used his strength and his arms to knock Nero off to the side. The scarred dinosaur recovered from his stunned state and stormed up to the young male for a blow to the head. Aladar intercepted this by turning his back and whacking his tail across. The whiplash made contact with Nero's skull with a sound similar to a small explosion. His head swung away from the tail attack like a reed in the wind.

The force of the assault caused Nero to collapse on the ground in the direction of the hit. The tyrant now stunned again, Aladar made his way to the oppressor and loomed over him. For good measure, he placed one hoof on the bully's neck to make sure he wouldn't get back up. An aura of retribution, fury, and anger emanated from the emerald eyes. Nero eyed him silently and awaited for the finishing blow. Being stunned and too wounded to keep going, he knew that he had lost. Aladar raised his right hoof up, spike at the ready on Nero's neck.

The forest ornithopod shut his eyes and anticipated a bony spike going through his neck. Surprisingly, it never came. All that happened was something slamming on the ground next to his head. Everyone watched in shock at the sight of Aladar missing his mark. The cheers died down in an instant.

The alpha leaned down to Nero and gritted his teeth. "It's over Nero."

With that said, Aladar let go of his enemy's neck and backed away. The defeated opponent slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head up to see the alpha limping away. Nero shakily got up, pained by the new injuries all over his body, and called out to him.

"Why? Why didn't you deliver the final blow? If you killed me, then everyone would follow you without question," he demanded.

The alpha turned to face him, his tired eyes meeting his gaze. "If I did, then I would be a monster, which is something I am not."

"How did you defeat me? My strength and your wounds were enough to decide the battle's outcome! I should have won!" Nero complained with a stomp of his hoof.

"Because...unlike you, I have something to protect," he replied and looked over at his family and friends. They all smiled at the fact that they are the leader's drive to keep going, both in life and in tough situations.

He looked back at his foe with dignity and pride. "When you have something to protect, your strength would have no bounds. That's another thing that makes a good leader. It's having others support you, not fear you."

The forest _Iguanodon_ gave him a puzzling gaze. Obviously, he had never heard of something like that before. All his life, he knew of the world as a cruel place, where only the strong survived. Kron had emphasized that when he was the leader, and Nero lived up to it. Listening to this novice alpha tell him that was like hearing an entirely different language.

"If I get word that you hurt anyone here in this valley, you will be banished from the herd," Aladar proclaimed. He then turned over to his left to meet with his family and friends.

The entire group cheered for him and rushed to meet with their champion. The children all huddled around him to give him gentle nuzzles from their snouts, except for Tirech, Mikiya and Charon who just proudly watched him do so. Even Suri and Zini congratulated him by hopping onto his neck and hugging him.

Neera strode over to her mate and gently embraced him with her neck. The two alphas reveled in the intimate moment as this most harrowing fight blew past them. They looked into each other's eyes lovingly as their friends and family gathered around to join in the celebration. The only ones who did not participate in the happy moment were Marcus and Hazel, who were radioing nearby vets to get to the area to help with cleaning the wounds on the two males. If anyone had been paying any attention, the young woman was glancing back at the engineer and at the defeated foe in suspicion.

Nero looked down at the ground in remorse at first. Moments turned into minutes as he mulled over his leader's words. The more he thought on it, that feeling turned into anger. He gritted his teeth and sharply looked at his retreating leader, who was leaving with his friends, family, and the rest of the herd. The green ornithopod snorted and prepared to charge at the alpha to break his neck.

What happened next occurred too fast. Just when Nero was just about a few feet away, something sharp pricked his neck like a sharp rock piercing his body. The dinosaur let out a cry of pain and began to stumble on his own steps.

The herd turned around to see the bully fall into a stupor. They watched in confusion as he fell onto his side, slightly dazed. Aladar and the other prehistoric creatures slowly moved toward him to see what had caused this to happen. The source of it was an odd sharp gray spike with pink feathers at the end. Soft footfalls were heard from the direction of where the object came from. Surprisingly, it came from Hazel, who was holding a weird looking brown stick in her two hands. The shocked young woman with sun-colored hair at the girl's left by about ten feet stared as she walked on. To those who had witnessed it, like Marcus and Cameron, Hazel had snatched the tranquilizer gun at the last minute to shoot at Nero. She may have had the cast on her right arm to limit her precision on the trigger, but she managed to get him nonetheless. They silently watched as the girl approached the downed herbivore.

"Didn't you hear your leader Nero? It's over. Aladar won, fair and square," she reprimanded him after stopping just a few feet from his fallen body.

His vision now getting blurry and body getting numb, the dinosaur could do nothing but lift his head up to look at the human. The more he squirmed to get back up, the more tired he got.

"What...what did you do to me!?" he raised his voice.

Hazel smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing major. Just drugged you is all. You'll be out like a rock in a minute or so."

"You insignificant hairless ape! I'll crush you with my bare hooves!" he threatened as he tried to get up. Sadly, he could not as he only fell back down due to the effects of the drug taking hold on him.

"Heh...I'd like to see you try," the young keeper sassed at him. "The drug's going through your system now. Plus, you don't exactly have the strength to keep fighting at the moment."

"So what are you going to do?" he questioned. His vision now darkening with a black circle in his eyes growing with each second. "Kill me? Send me away to some other time?"

Hazel shook her head. "Nope. We're not that cruel."

Nero's vision finally gave way. All he could see now was blackness. The limp form of the green _Iguanodon_ fell still and relaxed on the ground. The last words of Hazel echoed in his mind before he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Good night, sweet prince."

With that said, the girl dropped the gun where it was and turned to rejoin with her friends. All of the herd members eyed the strange weapon curiously and at the now sleeping challenger. Some of them thought that he was dead and were about to retort at Hazel as she passed by. However, that never happened when they saw his chest slowly rise and fall.

The keepers retreated from the area to either tell their friends what had occurred, assist with the incoming vets on the transport of the two males, or to get back to work. Marcus and Cameron followed along with them. The cameraman rushed over to the park to edit the videos for presentation in haste while the engineer headed back to his workshop to fetch the communicator dish for use at the infirmary.

Both Mikiya and Martha retreated as well, making their way over to the elephant grounds. The megafauna scolded the young calf for not looking away when she was told to, echoed through the air as they walked away. The last thing that Martha had said to her before they disappeared was for the calf to not speak a word of this to her mother.

As for Aladar and the gang, they wondered what Hazel had exactly done. The girl told them that he was fine and not to worry. Informing them that the keepers would take care of him slightly eased their curiosity. Although they were concerned for Nero's well-being, even though they never liked him, they did not delve more into the matter.

They were also told of what was going to happen to the alpha for the next few hours. All of which agreed on the humans caring for his wounds. The alpha told them to go with the herd, as he would catch up with them later. There was some protest coming from the group, especially Plio, but he reassured them that he would be fine. Reluctantly, they left him to rejoin with the herd per his request. The only one who he asked to help with him was Neera, which she gladly accepted.

While they were walking off, however, Hazel noticed movement from her peripheral vision. She looked back to see the form of Espantos peering over the fallen Nero like he was a dinner platter. His foot was upon Nero's side, the Terror Bird's talons slightly drawing blood as he debated on which part of the forest-green dinosaur his razor sharp beak could rip into. The keepers that were present brought their tranquilizer guns up to sedate the crazy bird. She shook her head and then hollered at him, which also caused the two _Iguanodons_ to look over in that direction as well with intense curiosity.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT ESPANTOS!" Terror Bird's beak closed with a sharp click as the young woman called.

The bird let out a cry of annoyance then slowly turned towards Hazel. His eyes now had the classic pleading puppy look. "Awww! But I'll never know if _Iguanodon_ tastes like horse meats!"

The girl only glared at him even harder. "Espantos!"

Espantos let out a warble of defeat. "Oh okay fine!"

"Stupid Author People," he inaudibly grumbled as he passed Hazel and her friends.

The bird trudged away towards the direction of his enclosure past the hills, his head hanging low in shame. The keepers looked at the bird in confusion then over at Hazel for any indication on what to do. With a few hand signals, she let them know to continue on with preparing Nero for transport. She then gestured to the two herbivores with her to continue on walking. The both of them complied, although they wondered on what Espantos was about to do to Nero. The young keeper dismissed that and told them not to worry about it, which they accepted.

"Hazel, what exactly did you do to Nero?" Aladar asked her while she slowly walked with them, his curiosity on his defeated foe still lingering in his brain. By the time he had asked that, they were already slowly climbing up the base of the hill. His walking gait became more strained with the wounds he sustained. Neera watched him with worry at was about to help him, but was sated when he gave her a comforting look.

"Just put him to sleep," she simply said from his right, letting out a breath. Her chest still ached from the wound she received from Nero weeks before. She held on to it as she climbed the landform with her friends.

"Um…," Neera started but lost track of what she was going to say. The male ornithopod and the human stared at the female that walked at the left. "Just to make sure, but he's not dead?"

Hazel shook her head. "Nope, he's not. He's just been drugged."

"I don't know what that means, but why'd you do it?" he asked her.

Hazel lifted her left hand up and bent her thumb, fourth, and pinkie down to leave the remaining two standing.

"Two reasons," she declared before putting them back down. "One, he was about to attack you from behind for not admitting defeat. Two, the vets wouldn't be able to tend to his injuries if he were up trying to kill them. Don't worry, he'll be awake soon."

Neera eyed Hazel in pure wonder. The expression caused her to smirk a little. "First you have things that allow you to travel through time, then you have healers that can treat injuries, and now you have those weird sticks to put others to sleep? Aladar, what kind of world did we come into?"

Aladar let out a sharp breath at the humorous remark. "I don't know Neera. I'm still just as confused myself."

The budding leader walking along with them chuckled. "Welcome to the 21st century."

Right when she said that, the trio had arrived at the top of the hill. The transport truck had just arrived and parked about a hundred feet from them. Numerous vets rushed over to the leader's aid. Hazel told Neera to go back to the herd as they could take care of things from there. With one final glance at her mate, she nodded and turned around to head back to the valley sector.

It took some time, but the vets managed to secure Aladar onto the platform behind the truck. Hazel had volunteered to stay with him there as a riding companion. The straps were uncomfortable, but he was told they were necessary to keep him secure. Little did he know that this was the same truck that brought him to the infirmary weeks ago. Within minutes, they drove off towards the direction of the healing complex. The valley disappeared behind them in a matter of moments.

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Later that night…

Prehistoric Park Infirmary

One would expect the infirmary to be busy in the early hours of night, with an injured Aladar coming in. A thirty-foot animal with new stab wounds and scratches sounded like a lot of work. However, when they arrived at the complex, only Suzanne was there. The vets that brought them left the duo once their job was done. Also, the head vet told them that she would take it from there with Hazel's help. She knew that a number of them clocked out at around sundown, so the infirmary fairly vacant. Night was always the time when everyone was ready for a good night's rest after a hard day at the park.

Although this area of the park can hold a decent number of large herbivores, Hazel advised the staff to transport Nero to the holding pens. She did not want him to hurt Aladar any further (or anyone else for that matter) should the drug wear off before the vets were finished with him, at least for a few days. The best thing to do was to keep him separated from everybody and keep him asleep for a while. She also advised the senior keeper Bob to bring him to the valley a few days from then and before the drug would wear off. The girl also made a mental note to inform Nigel later on of the situation that had occurred.

Right when they were about to enter the building, Marcus arrived there on his ATV. Aladar curiously watched him dismount to odd vehicle, but his observations were interrupted with Hazel getting him inside.

Getting the _Iguanodon_ situated in the building for treatment was easy. All they had to do was to get him to the same area where he laid two days ago. In addition, it only took a few minutes for the engineer to set up the communicator dish. All he needed was a tripod after all. Once it was positioned in front of the dinosaur, he activated it. Immediately, his grunts, barks, and groans turned into words that everyone could understand.

The burns he received before had not fully healed. The new wounds he got from Nero were fresher, with blood dripping down onto the concrete. Hazel had to help with cleaning up the bloody trail with a mop. The girl's face scrunched up at the sight and smell of her own friend's life substance splattered on the floor. The only thing she was happy about was that he was alive and that his wounds would heal in time. It took some work, but she managed to get the job done. Now if only the same could be said with Suzanne. Cleaning up the blood on his body was nothing compared to sterilizing the injured areas.

"OW!" Aladar screamed as a cloth that was dipped in alcohol touched one of the large gashes on his shoulder. The ornithopod winced in pain and he jerked his arm back to avoid the cloth. His pained reaction echoed from the black speaker ten feet from him.

Suzanne backed up a little after touching that sensitive area. Aladar had been doing well with the treatment he was getting, but only because the head vet had been dealing with small scratches, which did not hurt as much. Now that she was patching up the larger wounds, Aladar felt more pains of discomfort. The vet spent a large amount of time on the large gash on his neck due to his squirming and the amount of blood that dripped. Now that it was wrapped up in a bandage, she could focus on the scratches on his left shoulder. At least Suzanne already administered antibiotics to him via needle and syringe before administering with her treatment.

Marcus jumped at the sudden outburst; in fact, he nearly fell off of the short column of cushions that were positioned against the wall behind the dinosaur.

"Jesus! Scared the living hell out of me!" he complained. He folded his arms over his chest and relaxed again. "That's like the fifth time!"

Suzanne let out an exasperated sigh. "Aladar, will you hold still? We can't properly clean your wounds if you keep squirming."

"Sorry, but it really hurts!" he whined.

Hazel, who had finished mopping up the floor of the bloody mess, walked over to her medically pampered friend. Her face showed that of a mother about to lecture her child.

"Oh come on Aladar, don't be such a baby!" she started, putting her hands on her hips. "You faced worse than this. You survived a Carnotaur attack, nearly falling off a cliff, getting toasted by a space rock, and getting a beating from Nero. Getting a wound cleaned is nothing compared to all of that!" she counted with her fingers.

Aladar shrugged his shoulders and calmed. His breathing slowed from its labored state and his arm returned to its normal position. The vet approached him again to prepare to clean his wounds.

"Sorry," he apologized. Suzanne dabbed at the wound again. This time, Aladar held his own against it, though he did shudder from the feel of the cold liquid and the sharp sting. It only lasted for a few seconds, and ended with the cloth being removed.

The head veterinarian grabbed the bandages nearby and began to wrap around one of the groups of gashes on his arm. Just like when Suzanne bandaged his neck area, the feeling of the white cloth going around his limb felt odd. These strange wrappings restricted his movement a little. "My God Aladar...you've been in the infirmary for five weeks and then you manage to get yourself back here just from getting into a fight?"

"Oh come on Suzanne, Nero started it," Hazel defended. "He challenged Aladar for leadership of the herd."

The dark haired woman with a short ponytail eyed the young keeper with slight disappointment. "You should have at least let us handle the situation. That way, he wouldn't be like this."

"Well I would have stopped you if you did," he told the vet, who looked up at him after finishing wrapping his wounds on his arm. She then proceeded to begin wrapping around his shoulder. "Plus, I didn't want him to hurt any of you."

"That's...well...I don't know what to say. But, thank you," Suzanne said, slightly speechless on his words. She knew full well about the fights for dominance in the animal kingdom and was well-accustomed to it. However, she also cared for the Resident's well-being in the park. So whether it was a fight for leadership or a squabble, her protective nature would always kick in.

Minutes passed, and Suzanne had managed to wrap up all of the wounds on his limbs. Now there were the stab wounds along the dinosaur's back. She had to ask Hazel to hop onto him so that she could catch the bandage when the vet threw it at her. After telling Aladar to stand a little to make it easier for them, the ladies went to work on wrapping the worst of his wounds. Hazel attached one end of the bandage roll with some medical tape on a non-affected area, then had to throw it down to Suzanne so that she could adjust it. With each adjustment, the young woman would adjust her body to allow the next layer to come in, whether it be moving back, standing up a little, or turning around. Finally, she would throw it back to her so that the gauze could be applied more tightly. This continued on for the next few minutes.

"So, what's Nero's problem anyway?" the vet asked, breaking the silence. "Seems like he's hating on everybody, you two especially."

Hazel told the senior staff member with a hint of hesitance. She did not like discussing about the guy, considering what he did to her in the past, but she had a right to know. "Nero's been wanting to be the leader of the herd for a while. That guy's been waiting for his chance to do so for years, but never got to because Aladar here got to it first." The Asian then went back to work with tending to Aladar's wounds. "As to why he did not even try to get it in the past, I have no idea."

"He was busy preparing himself for it," he clarified. Hazel let out a sound of realization, now knowing the answer to that question.

"Geez!" Marcus threw his hands up in aggravation at Nero's reason to dislike Aladar. "So he hates Aladar here for beating him to his prized job, then he hates us for looking out for everybody, and he hates Hazel for not telling everyone about the meteor strike!"

The engineer then looked over at said human, who was busy with tightening the bandage strap on the _Iguanodon_ before throwing it back to Suzanne on the other side. "Heck he even swatted you into the lake, making you skip on the water like a stone breaking most of your bones, and then turned everybody against you!"

At that statement, both Hazel and Aladar snapped their heads at Marcus. The young girl's face contorted into one of complete fright while the leader watched him confusingly. Suzanne, on the other hand, was the only one who seemingly paid no mind to them, but she did want to hear everything.

The man analyzed his friends' reactions and realized his verbal blunder. "Aw crap! I shouldn't have said that…"

" _Damn it Marcus! Did you have to blurt that out!?"_ Hazel cursed in her mind. Though she told Aladar that the herd did not trust her in the past for not telling them about the Fireball, she never told Aladar that she nearly died from Nero's rage. It was all because she did not want him to be angry on an incident that was long since past.

"Wait what?" the dinosaur questioned and turned to the human on his back.

The girl turned over to her friend and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Aladar's expression became stern. He wasn't falling for her facade on the matter. He heard the engineer's words correctly and he wanted to know the full truth. "Hazel, I heard what Marcus said. You're hiding something, and I want to hear it. Now tell me, what did Nero do?"

He also looked over at the cast on her right arm and back at her. "Was Nero the one who did that to your arm?"

Hazel stared at him for what seemed to be minutes, when in reality, it had only been about thirty seconds. Seeing that demanding gaze from him sent shivers down her spine. Never before had the herd leader appear like this to her. From where she was, she could feel the rage building up within him, all because his breathing became shorter and his eyes pierced her soul.

At this point, trying to hide the fact from him was useless. She finally gave up and told him.

"Yes...he um...he revealed to everyone in the herd that I knew about the Fireball's coming. He turned everyone against me, and branded me as an outsider. I spoke out against him in my attempt to defend the good intentions of everyone in the park. But…" she lifted her arm up to look at it then back at him. "He severely injured me as a result."

Aladar gawked at her, completely speechless. Now knowing that one of his best friends had nearly died by his hooves had caused his anger to skyrocket. Plus, that had happened while he was out of commission! Feelings of rage, horror, and sadness went on through his brain as he did his best to process the new information.

"Hazel why didn't you tell me about this!?" he told her forcefully.

She let out a regretful sigh. "Because I didn't want you to worry about something that's already done. If I had told you, you would have gone up to Nero and gotten yourself hurt again. You had just woken up from a coma and your wounds were still bad. I didn't want you to get into a conflict with him, only to be sent back here. Or worse…" her voice trailed off, leaving out the possibility of him dying. That thought struck fear into her heart. The burly herbivore killing him on the spot was something she could not bear.

The sea-green male quietly gasped. His head leaned away from her in complete shock. Hazel did not tell him about what Nero did to her not only because she did not want him to worry, but also, she did not want him to get hurt even further. In short, she was trying to protect him from Nero.

Aladar closed his eyes and let out a low sigh. The sound was like that of a low rumble to the humans. "When we're done here, I'm going to have a talk with Nero. He's not going to get away with this."

Hazel shook her head, being against that idea. "No Aladar. I don't think that's necessary. You've already shown him that you're top dog in the herd AND you made it clear that he shouldn't mess with anyone in the valley."

Although he did not know what the word "dog" meant, he did understand her meaning. Because he had already defeated Nero in a battle for leadership, he had already gone through enough punishment. Reprimanding him or even getting even for hurting those he cared about would only escalate the situation further. Hazel was right, there really was no need for that.

"But what if he succeeds in the future? Hazel, you remember what I told him before; if he harms anyone here, then he'll be banished from the herd. But I fear that won't be enough to stop his rage on all of you," he said with doubt.

The young woman gently rubbed a portion of his back in front of her for a moment, which was an area untouched by the medical gauze. The dinosaur took in the sensation of her soft, tiny fingers on his scaly skin.

"Don't worry," she told him. "We'll think of something to take care of him should he cause trouble."

Aladar smiled at her. For as long as the leader of the herd could remember, she always had a way to turn things around. Hazel helped him in the past many times, including when he was about to give up last year when they were in the cave. Her words helped push him forward, and so did her actions. In his perspective, he could already see the spark of leadership within her.

" _You have a lot to learn, but you'll get there,"_ he mused to himself.

"Aw...That was so touching! Don't you just love sentimental, heart to heart chats?" a voice called out from where the cushions were.

Marcus's comment caused the duo to focus on him. They did so, but it also affected Suzanne. She did not notice, but she had stopped working on wrapping Aladar's back of his major injuries, as she was focused on the whole conversation. Thankfully, most of the injuries were almost covered.

The girl and dinosaur eyed him with slight indignation. The fact that he had interrupted a meaningful conversation was rude to both of them.

"Thanks a lot Marcus. You ruined the moment," Hazel blatantly remarked.

"How rude of you," Suzanne mildly scolded him while tying the bandages securely. She then left his underside and gestured him to lie back down with a thumbs up. It was when she performed that action that she realized he may not know what that signal meant. She awaited for a confused expression on his face, but was surprised to see none. The dinosaur knew what that signal meant because of his lemur family. Aladar complied and relaxed back onto the concrete, which impressed Suzanne greatly.

"Aw, come on Suzy! I can be quite the gentleman when I want to be." The senior staff member at least had the decency to look sheepish as shrugged his shoulders in Hazel's direction. "I kind of wanted in on the conversation too, you know. Sorry..."

"Uh huh, sure you do," Hazel rolled her eyes.

"Also, I have a question."

"And what's that?"

"You guys mentioned that Nero wanted to become the leader of the herd, but never got the chance to because Aladar beat him to it. So that begs the question; who was the leader before?"

The girl and the _Iguanodon_ glanced at each other at the mention of the previous leader. Although they were okay with talking about him, they did not mention the dead former leader around other members of the herd, especially around Neera. Hazel had only reunited with her friends a short while ago, but even she knew not to delve into that subject. He was a sensitive topic, and would rather talk about him when no one else was around. Even the rest of the friend circle knew that.

Aladar looked down with a hint of remorse. Although he never appreciated the deceased leader, he did feel empathetic when he died. He was Neera's only family after all. "Uh...yeah there was someone before me."

It was at that statement that Marcus decided to interject with a question of his own. He heard Hazel say something about what the herd went through last year and he wanted to confirm it. The same could be said for Nigel's explanation on the girl's solo journey. "Was it that Kron guy?"

The sea-green dinosaur and the young keeper eyed the engineer with complete surprise. How did he know about that? No one in the park knew about the deceased leader except for the herd, Plio's family, and Hazel. So how did the twenty-five year old get that information?

"How do you know that?" Hazel asked, cocking an eyebrow up.

"You said his name before the fight. Something about trying to get the herd to climb a 90 degree wall?" he told her. He remembered weeks ago when Nigel spoke about Hazel's adventure last year. He did talk about the events that transpired in those two weeks, but apparently he did not know all of the details.

The girl let out a sigh. "Oh yeah...that."

Suzanne snapped her head at the two of them in confusion, which then turned into realization. She then rushed over to the other side so that she could be close to Marcus, and so that she could have a better vantage point on everyone. She remembered Nigel telling her of Hazel's solo adventure last year sometime after the herd's rescue, but she still found it hard to believe. The young keeper had actually interacted with a herd of at least two hundred or so animals, and they were sentient! Then again, Marcus had managed to make a communicator dish that was able to translate the prehistoric language into English and Hazel was witnessed on talking to them by nearly everyone in the park. So things that seemed impossible were now possible. As fascinating as the adventure was, she could not remember what had occurred in that mission because Nigel had told it to her weeks ago. So now, the details seem muddled up. Not only that, but she also wanted to hear the story from a herd member's perspective, mainly the current leader so that it would be cleared up.

Suzanne's eyes lit up with even more awareness. She put a hand on her chin in deep thought. "Wait, Nigel did mention something about that. The herd was being made to climb a rock wall or something by the previous leader. That was Kron, wasn't it?"

Aladar looked at her and nodded, confirming Suzanne's suspicions. "Kron was the leader before me. I've only been part of the herd for a year. So...I didn't really know him for long."

"So you're saying that you found the herd? What happened?"

"Long story short, my family and I escaped our island after the first Fireball hit. That island was inhabited by lemurs...at least, until I came along as an egg. They raised me and took me in as one of their own. When the Fireball hit, only myself, Plio, Yar, Zini, and Suri made it out," he recanted. A hint of sorrow showed on his face from that tragic event in the past. That island was all he had ever known, and was his world. But, thanks to fate, he found new friends and became the leader of individuals like him, for the most part. "While we wandered through the desert, we managed to get the attention of a pack of raptors. That was when we met the Herd."

"I get it now...so you just came across the herd by accident," Marcus deduced.

Aladar looked over at Marcus. "Yeah. It was also the day I found out what I really was...and the fact that I wasn't the only one of my kind."

The engineer chuckled. "Sounds a little like Tarzan."

Hazel and Suzanne shot scolding looks at him. As for the dinosaur, he had no clue what he spoke about.

"Marcus!" the two screamed at him.

Said jokester put his hands up in an apologetic signal. "What? It's true. I call them as I see them."

The women each gave him disapproving signs with their hands, which all pointed over at Aladar. Marcus got their gist, he basically made fun of the dinosaur and were getting him to apologize. However, he did not need to apologize because Aladar spoke before he could. Although the dinosaur had no idea what was going on, and he moderately enjoyed the sight of the three humans with their silent argument, he wanted to continue on.

"That was also the day I met Neera, Eema, Baylene, Url, Flia, pretty much the whole herd, and Hazel here. And...Kron."

Suzanne cleared her throat and looked up at him and then at Hazel, having recovered from the silent tirade towards the Filipino descended engineer. "I see...Hazel, when you told us your story on your journey last year, you didn't just trail the herd. You actually joined them. But you also said something about having a part of the hierarchy?"

"I was Flia's scouting partner," she replied. "Basically my job was to help her in finding food, water, shelter, and predators to watch out for."

"So that would explain why you knew how to ride your _Pterodactyl_ friend," Marcus figured. "How'd you get the job?"

Hazel was slightly amused by calling one of her best friends by the incorrect name. " _Pteranodon_. And her name's Flia. As for how I got the job, let's just say I...asked nicely."

The girl shuddered at that truth she made. She remembered last year when she first encountered the herd. Flia had brought her up to Kron to request joining the migration and to help the _Pteranodon_ on her scouting. She recalled the arrogance and the scorn the leader gave her for being smaller and not as tough as everyone else. The purple Iguanodon, along with Bruton at the time, scrutinized every single aspect of her. To Hazel, she remembered it as her most intense interview of her life. Before she could dwell on that memory, a voice had brought her back to reality with another question.

"Hazel, Aladar, you both encountered this Kron. What was he like?" Suzanne wondered.

"Yeah, judging by the looks of the herd, they didn't look very happy when he was mentioned," Marcus added.

Once again, Aladar and Hazel looked at each other questionably. Both of them were making head movements with each other on who would like to talk about him. The miniature silent contest resulted in Aladar being the winner, due to using a slightly more forceful command that he used the day the little human returned to this time last year. Hazel sighed and then turned to her two companions.

"Um...yeah we know him. He may have been the leader of the herd when we met him, but he wasn't the nicest. He heavily believed in survival of the fittest, something that Nero believed in as well. He pretty much ruled the herd with an iron hoof," she mentioned after dismounting from his back and taking her place next to him.

"We...don't exactly like to talk about him," the alpha seconded. "A number of us still have those scars from previous migrations. He was willing to sacrifice the few...only to benefit the many. He was also selfish, like that one time when he hogged a watering hole for himself rather than share with the herd."

Marcus let out a scoff. He didn't like the sound of this guy, even if he was dead. True, he did do some homework on animal hierarchy and biology, but he still didn't like how everyone back then was being treated. Perhaps he was driven mad by something? He wanted to know more about this.

"Social Darwinist much? He's a complete dick!"

Once again, Suzanne gave him a scolding look before turning back to the dinosaur and apparent human ambassador. "Well...although I do not agree with that sort of action, I do see his way of thinking. That concept is still happening in this time as well. For some of us humans, even animals, it's a dog eat dog world. Every creature for themselves. As a leader, I'm sure he had to make hard decisions just to protect the herd."

At that statement, something within Aladar went off. His head slowly looked down onto the human known as Suzanne. Kron protect the herd? That sounds logical but he jeopardized the herd's safety on numerous occasions! He was even willing to leave the weak behind just so that the herd would be able to escape from the Carnotaurs that were close by! The vet's words angered Aladar, and he made that apparent by raising his voice at her.

"By hoarding a puddle? Driving the herd on without considering those falling behind? Making them climb a wall that would lead to their deaths!?" he quickly stood up, but doing so made him feel agony on his back. He shut his eyes and groaned in pain as the sting went through his body.

Hazel put her hands on Aladar's chest and gently pulled him down to get him to return to his original position. "Easy! You'll open your wounds if you do that!"

The dinosaur let out a sigh and gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry. I just...I couldn't stand how he was running things."

"You're not the only one. Remember, I worked for that guy for nearly two weeks, then got fired just for telling him off on his leadership skills. That may have been a long time ago, but it still bugs me to this day…"

Marcus let out a humored snicker. The thought of Hazel getting fired was unheard of, but working with a dinosaur was completely new. "Wait. Hazel, you got fired!? Seriously!? Man, imagine that on a resume."

"He was about to leave our friends behind just so the herd could have a head start AND so that the carnivores could have at them!" she explained in a defensive tone.

Silence permeated in the building. The crickets outside were the only ones that made a sound in the night. A soft wind blew inside, gently wafting the quartet in its cool breeze. Marcus and Suzanne only stared at the two travelers that braved the trials of last year's migration under the spotlights in the warehouse. While Aladar calmly looked at them, Hazel was showing her protectiveness of her friends and the herd through her determined face and her quick breathing. After a moment though, she relaxed and sighed.

Suzanne chose this moment to explain her case on Kron. She had never met him, but she had an idea on why he was the way he was. The woman knew too well of the harshness of survival, and can only imagine what these prehistoric creatures had been through. "Hazel, Aladar, I know you two wouldn't want to hear this, but hear me out. Kron may not have been the nicest leader, but I think he was doing his job as an alpha. Think about it, you two and the rest of the herd spent weeks out in the open desert without any resources and while being constantly badgered by predators. While some of his decisions may not have been ideal for some, at the end of the day it was his decision to make. His choices probably weren't perfect, but he did what he thought was best for the herd as a whole. And with every loss the herd had most likely burdened his conscious, making him jaded in his actions. That's enough to drive anyone insane."

The girl frowned on that, but she agreed with her reasoning. Hazel remembered the nightmare she had weeks ago, the night before she brought the herd to Prehistoric Park. Her spiritual encounter with Kron reminded her of his burden as the leader, and what he sought to uphold as one. "Couple that with the wall that blocked their only way into the Nesting Grounds. I see what you mean."

"I can't believe I forgot about that. I guess I can't blame him, even though they weren't right," Aladar said, now considering Kron's pressures in the past.

"Hazel, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Nigel say something about the former leader dying before the herd reached the Nesting Grounds?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah...our friend circle doesn't like to talk about that time, mostly because of Neera," Hazel said, her voice going down a pitch at the mention of that one moment.

"How come? Well, other than a respected member of the herd dying of course. Did Neera know him well?" Suzanne felt the uneasiness from Hazel and Aladar at the sound of that word. She could see it on their faces that although he was the leader, he was actually more feared than respected.

"Was he an ex-boyfriend?" the engineer guessed.

The _Iguanodon_ and young keeper glared at him for that. It was an innocent guess, however that made them uncomfortable at the thought of an incestuous relationship. The two shivered at that and shed that creepy image from their minds. Suzanne had no idea what was happening, but she did want to know Kron's relationship to the alpha female of the herd.

Once again, Marcus put his hands up in defense, as if he were under arrest. "What?"

"Marcus...Kron was...Neera's brother," Hazel explained, causing the man to put his hands down. His eyes widened in shock that the dead leader that caused problems for the herd was related to Aladar's mate.

"Oh...sorry."

The vet gasped and put a hand on her mouth for a moment. "My God...I'm so sorry. I mean, I didn't know him, but that's horrible! How did he die again?"

"Um...remember when Nigel told you some time ago about how I rescued Diablo?" Hazel reminded, remembering that the leader of the whole park told the senior keepers most of the story.

An eyebrow went up on Suzanne's face. "Yes? Oh...I see," she said with full understanding.

"I couldn't save him in time," she further explained. "Flia and I got there too late. As much as I hated the guy, he didn't deserve to die. He wasn't the most benevolent leader, but he helped protect the herd nonetheless."

"I'll have to agree with you there," Aladar said. Although he was still uncomfortable at the thought of coexisting with the very creature that murdered Kron and almost slaughtered the herd, but from the tour Hazel gave, he trusted that the humans will keep him contained. He even remembered her reason, and by extension the park's, on bringing back carnivores. They were good intentions, as long as they kept them under check. "Had things been different, Kron and I would have gotten along."

"Well, now the herd's a lot stronger with you around. Now everyone looks out for each other, thanks to you," Hazel told him, which prompted Aladar to become flushed with dignity.

"You know, I've been thinking. Had I not been taken to that island as an egg and met my family, I would have been a part of a herd like that. But I wouldn't be the same. I'd probably have the same mind as any other herd member...or maybe like Kron. Or Nero for that matter."

"Fate always plays a part for everyone. You were destined to hatch on that island and meet Plio and her family, just like how I was destined to meet you."

Aladar smiled at her. "And I'm glad we did."

"Well, as much as I like this sentimentality, it's getting late," Marcus said after yawning loudly. He then jumped down from the tower of cushions and landed with a grunt. The man walked over to the propped communicator dish and speaker close to the dinosaur and began to prepare to shut it down. "I'd better get back to my workshop so that I can continue on making more communicators."

The _Iguanodon_ yawned as well, this time a bit louder than Marcus's and with a deeper tone. "Yeah, I think we should all get some sleep too. Today being crazy and all."

"Yup. I'll walk with you back to the valley," Hazel agreed. Aladar slowly got up, tolerating the irritation of his injuries from today.

"Fine," he chuckled. He did not really need her assistance in getting back to the valley sector, but even if he tried to argue with her, she would not back down. Aladar admired her determination to get him back safely, even though she now acted like Lethe with Charon.

"Wait, Aladar are you sure you can handle going back?" Suzanne inquired. Animals, well in this case sentient ones, needed to at least stay a while in the infirmary to allow their injuries to heal before leaving. That's what she had to handle in the past. But Aladar wanting to go back too soon was something unheard of. "You should at least stay here for a night until your wounds close up a little."

The alpha male looked back and shook his head. "Don't worry Suzanne, I'll be fine. Plus, it's a nice night out and I could go for a walk."

Hazel did the same and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll keep an eye on him."

The woman nodded and sighed. "All right then. You both have a good night."

"Don't run into anything!" Marcus seconded.

The duo nodded and turned to walk away. Both of them told her the same thing before Marcus managed to deactivate the communicator dish. He intentionally delayed turning it off to allow them to say their farewells for the night. The dinosaur and human evacuated the area and entered the world of night. Marcus left not long after, with all of the equipment with him, and left the infirmary. The last person to leave was Suzanne, who was contemplating on the conversation she had just had. This was her first time talking to a dinosaur, which was something that was never done before in the history of Prehistoric Park. In her mind, she wondered about what the future would be like, once everyone had the privilege of having a communicator like Hazel's.

"Things are going to be different around here," she remarked after putting the used medical supplies away for the night. "I wonder what else is in store for us?"

Once everything was cleaned up, she made her way to the end of the garage and pulled at the large red handle next to the doorway. All of the lights in the complex powered down in a second. As a final act, she felt for the switches below it and pulled on them as well. The garage doors closed one by one, until the last one above her slowly made its way to the ground. The vet took a step back and turned to walk away. She turned on the flashlight she took out of her pocket and traversed into the night.

 _Darksage: WHOO! *stands up and jumps in glee* Aladar for the win!_

 _Marc: Man that was bloody…you sure we didn't overdo it on the fight there?_

 _Darksage: Positive! That fight was sooooooo epic!_

 _Marc: Alright I have to admit, that was a cool fight. Nice one Sage._

 _Darksage: Great job to you too Marc!_

 _*faces the audience*_

 _Marc: Okay, we already told you guys, but we've got a few things coming our way. So we'll do our best to get more chapters up. As of right now, Chapter 20 is in the works._

 _Darksage: Yeah! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the upcoming chapter in this story!_

 _Marc: And without further ado, we must be off. See you guys on the next post._

 _Darksage: Peace out!_

 _*both leave*_


	20. Under the Stars

_AN:_

 _Marc: Hello everybody and welcome to another addition of "Dinosaur: Extinction Lasts Forever"! We decided that you people need a break from the violence so we're gonna give you all some filler! It's not the bad kind of filler, the good kind that'll mean stuff later._

 _Darksage: A lot of stuff…hehe. That fight was really awesome though! All the blood, punching, whacking with the tails, it was great! But the story's not over yet ^.^_

 _Marc: Well, enough of that stuff. Quick Sage-y, do the thing!_

 _Darksage: Yes sir!_ _ **We do not own Disney's Dinosaur or Prehistoric Park. Only the characters we created.**_ _Oh yeah! We also_ _ **do not own the music we mark in for some of the chapters. They belong to their respected artists**_ _. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!_

 _ **Soundtrack: Under the Stars by Derek Fiechter**_

Sparkling dots in the sky. That was what Aladar thought they were. Or at least, that was how everyone thought. Those little twinkling lights in the dark expanse did not mean much to him in the past. That was, until Hazel came along. He recalled the memory when they were traversing the desert on last year's migration. The wisps of sand blowing over the dunes, the groans coming from the herd ahead, and the strain of his muscles from travelling so much were perfectly ingrained in his mind. He remembered carrying Hazel on his back, all because she was too tired to walk.

Tonight was just like that time, except for a couple of differences. The first was that they were in a beautiful, lush and green valley rather than a barren, desert wasteland. The second was that there were even more stars out in contrast to the night sky 65 million years ago. Billions upon billions of them shone above in intricate forms and streaks, making a unique tapestry in that part of the world. The two creatures, human and dinosaur, sat on the hill between the herd grounds and the elephant grounds, gazing up at the sky in wonder.

Hazel and Aladar had arrived at the valley border not too long ago. The girl had to use her pocket flashlight that she always carried around with her to help get them to the Valley sector. Aladar had no need for such luminescent help, but he knew his human companion could not see in the dark as well. They had planned on reuniting with their other friends before going their separate ways for the night, but the alpha's fresh wounds impeded his normal walking speed. Sensing that the injuries were a huge liability at the moment, Hazel had the herd leader stop at the hill to rest. It was okay for him though, because now they had the chance to gaze up at the mysterious void of night. With the amount of stars that were out, having a flashlight activated would only ruin the scenery a bit. Hazel put it away so that they could both enjoy the night. The only consequence was that she could not see parts of the valley very well. However, she could still make out Aladar's form thanks to the stars above.

The conversation they had first started off on the stars. Aladar asked so many questions on them; from what they were made of, how they came to be, to how far they were. This proved to be a bit of a challenge for young Hazel. She did her best to answer his questions in a way he could understand, but she managed to sate his curiosity. To the young keeper, it was like giving a crash course on space to a little kid, but it was one she did not mind. The conversation then switched to something more...comedic after a while.

"Wait, wait, wait," Aladar shook his head. "You call that embarrassing?"

"Oh come on! Getting a bucket stuck on your head and being soaked in ice cold water was really embarrassing!" Hazel argued.

Hazel had recalled the day that she named her most embarrassing moment. Nearly two years ago, some time after she got hired, she came in and was run ragged by the amount of work she did for the day. She had requested to nap in Marcus's workshop for a spell, which he agreed on. However, he wanted to have a bit of fun with her and play a little prank on the newbie at the time. While she was napping, he managed to make a little pulley system with a bucket filled with water that would activate when the engineer blared an air-horn next to her head and flip off the couch she was napping on. The plan worked, a little too well in fact. The bucket had snapped off of the pulley and got stuck on her head, leaving the girl's head trapped in a small-enclosed space and her body soaked in freezing water. As a result of the mishap, Marcus got reprimanded by Bob and Nigel for his horrid stunt while Suzanne spent nearly an hour trying to get the bucket off of Hazel's head. Nearly all of the keepers in the park laughed at her and called her "bucket-head" for at least two weeks. Telling Aladar that but hearing that was a good way to get it off of her shoulders, but she was surprised to hear that he thought it was minor.

"Well I'll have to agree with Bob and Nigel. Marcus shouldn't have done that," Aladar said.

"Yeah but that was awhile ago. We're cool now," Hazel reassured him.

"Okay. But still, that's nothing."

She eyed him as if he had issued a challenge. "Oh yeah? Do you have an embarrassing moment that can top mine?"

Aladar chuckled. "As a matter of fact, I do."

"Alright," she smirked. "Let's hear it."

The dinosaur cleared his throat before recanting his awkward moment. "This was years ago, before any of us crossed paths, save for me and my family. Zini and I were over at one of the pools on the island for a swimming day. It was a pretty hot day out so it was a good idea at the time."

Hazel's eyes widened with immense interest. "A small pool on an island oasis? Man, you guys had the best living space!"

Aladar laughed at that comment before resuming. "Anyway, we were the only ones there, which meant more room for us. The lake was about half the size as the one here and not as deep, in my standards. If I can remember, it was somewhere in the middle of the island. Complete with a waterfall and a lot of plants."

"Hey, we've got something like that here in the park. It's somewhere here in the valley, just off in the opposite direction," Hazel explained with bright enthusiasm. "It's a pretty good-sized pool, but it's not as big as the lake here."

"Well what do you know? We should bring the whole gang there!" the _Iguanodon_ grinned in excitement.

"Yeah!" the human cheered with putting her hands up for a moment in a fist-pump. "Pool party!"

"Okay, okay, back to the story," he announced and caused the human to quiet down. "So Zini was being a daredevil and was doing some tricks by jumping into the pool. Then he dared me to do a cannonball."

"Oh boy," Hazel sighed in exasperation. With Zini's craziness, trouble wasn't far behind.

"So I jumped into the water...and accidentally body slammed him," Aladar recanted with slight guilt.

The girl's dark brown eyes went wide and her mouth fell agape. "What!? Are you serious!?"

The alpha nodded sheepishly. "Yup...I did. But that's not all. Yar happened to come into the area and was caught in the huge splash I made."

"Holy crap...well at least he got to cool off. What about Zini? Was he okay?"

Hazel could not see it very well on his face, but his cheeks flushed red. "Eh...more or less. I sort of knocked him out. I pulled him ashore after that little stunt and squeezed him with my paw. Don't worry, he spewed out some water and was gasping for air. I was really worried about him."

"Well thank goodness," the human breathed easy.

"But we both got in trouble for the stunts we pulled, courtesy of Yar," Aladar added with a hint of slight remorse.

"'You two are really reckless! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Someone could have gotten hurt!'" he said, complete with an imitation of the elder lemur. His playful mockery caused Hazel to laugh uncontrollably.

"As punishment," he continued in his normal tone. "We had to babysit little Suri and the other young ones for a week," he deadpanned.

"Ew…" Hazel groaned in disgust. She did not have much of a problem against babysitting, but she did not like getting grounded. She did get grounded a few times in the past as a kid, but only because of the little stuff like throwing tantrums or causing a huge mess in the living room for sitting on a couple of eggs, pretending to be a mother dinosaur.

"Hey, at least we gave Yar a bath," the dinosaur said with optimism.

"Okay there's that," she giggled.

Aladar then let out a sigh and looked at her again. "I still find it hard to believe that Zini finally found someone to love him. No girl was able to appreciate him for who he was. At least, before that one girl came along. Aya, was it?" he tried to recall her name.

Hazel looked at him in complete shock. She had forgotten that they weren't formally introduced because the day after the courtship was the Fireball incident. Or did he already meet her before or afterwards?

"How do you know Aya?"

"Zini introduced me to her sometime last night. Sweet girl and the complete opposite of Zini; shy, insecure, and careful. She pretty much completes him. By the way, you shouted her name during the courtship weeks ago. I take it you knew her previously?" he gave her a questioning look.

The girl simply nodded at him. "Yeah I gave her dating advice. Believe it or not, she had a huge crush on your uncle."

Aladar shook his head in utter disbelief. Hazel knew Aya because she needed advice on getting Zini to like her? Or even notice her? And he was the one that gave his adopted uncle his own dating advice. It was too much of a coincidence! He had to see if he was right.

"Huh? That's weird, because I gave Zini some advice too."

Hazel gave him with an incredulous look. "Are you serious!? You gave Zini advice while I did the same with Aya!? What a coincidence!"

Aladar beamed at her. "I know right!? Who knew that we were working together and neither of us knew it."

The girl once again cheered loudly. "Yeah! Hazel and Aladar: Matchmakers extraordinaires!" She then presented him with her left arm in a snake-like gesture, except her hand ended in a fist. She waited like that for at least ten seconds without a single response. Seeing the herd leader's blank expression caused Hazel to frown in embarrassment. "Oh yeah...you touch it."

"What?" he lifted an eye ridge.

"You touch my fist with your hoof."

"Why? What for?"

"It's called a fist-bump. It's like a symbol for respect or agreement," she defined. "It's like a handshake or a high-five, which I won't explain because they aren't important."

The dinosaur eyed her in confusion, even after she defined what it was. He then lifted his paw up and folded his digits a little to imitate the action. He completed it with a gentle nudge against her fist, which ended in Hazel getting pushed to the side. He gasped at her falling over and landing with a yelp.

"Sorry! I guess I did it a little too hard there."

She shook her head and chuckled after sitting back up. Thankfully, the force wasn't too bad on her. "No no. It's fine."

Hazel brought her fist up again for the second attempt. "Alright. Let's try this again. Softer this time."

Aladar brought his hoof up and met her hand. This time, he did not use as much force; he merely touched hers. Hazel smiled in approval at the perfect action.

"There we go."

He let his hoof fall then brought it back close to his chest to relax. "Wow, looks like there are a lot more things I need to know about in this time."

Hazel let out a chuckle. "You are 65 million years in the future. But you know, even though you're in a whole new era, you're still in the same world. Nothing much is different. In fact, we're breathing in the same air, sitting on the same grass, and we're under the same sky. So you see, it's a different time, but the same world."

The _Iguanodon_ then glanced back up at the sky to marvel at the twinkling lights. There were so many things in this world that were unknown to him. As fascinating as the new things were, he also felt out of place. And it was not just him either; the herd and the rest of the Residents he encountered in the park felt the same way. They were all strangers in a world not meant for them, yet here they were, continuing on with their lives. The humans here took them in and care for everyone's well-being. They were all given a second chance.

"You know, it's hard to believe that all this had happened within the last couple of weeks," he remarked.

The human looked over at him with a confusing expression. She had an idea on what he was speaking of, but she wanted to know the exact details. "What?"

"Two Fireballs, finding a new home then having to leave it, breaking natural boundaries," he then trailed off.

Hazel's eyebrows went up. "You having doubts or something?"

Aladar shook his head in disagreement then looked over at his smaller companion. Her hair danced with the soft breeze that blew. "No. It's just...we've been through them all. And we managed to stick together. A number of those involved you."

The girl's facial expression fell. She had been through a lot with Aladar and the rest of the gang...but a number of them involved getting into danger. Like the night when the herd went on without them; things would have been a bit better had she not raised her voice at Kron, then Flia wouldn't have taken the hits for her. Another was the escape from the Fireball...which involved Aladar getting burned by the blazing winds. Had she gotten off of him in time, he would have not received those harsh burns.

" _Those were my fault…"_ she sadly thought to herself. She assumed that Aladar was saying that she was the reason why everyone was put into danger.

Aladar noticed her mood depression and leaned his head over to her's in an attempt to comfort her. "I'm not blaming you. I'm trying to say...our lives changed because of you. Hazel, you're the reason why we were brought together, why we found the Nesting Grounds, and even why we're alive right now. I may be the leader, but you're the herd's savior."

Hazel's head perked up in complete surprise. She looked over at the gentle, caring eyes of the herd leader just inches from her face. Was that how he and everyone else viewed her? After everything that happened recently? She wanted to cry tears of joy then and there.

Her face immediately turned a shade of red. "Oh stop it! You're making me blush!"

"Besides, I shouldn't get all the credit. You're one too. Actually, everyone's one," she added with confidence.

The sea-colored _Iguanodon_ let out a little chuckle. "Alright, point taken."

"You guys are my family," she said then gave his face a soft nudge with her elbow. He rolled his eyes playfully at that action. "I'd fall apart if any of you died."

"Same with us," he concluded. The girl then put her attention back at the stars above.

Just then, something clicked within the ornithopod's mind on Hazel's words. Especially on the word "family". Ever since she came into their lives and their arrival to Prehistoric Park, they had only seen the human keepers in the area. However, she had not mentioned anything about any relatives or anything from the outside world, save for the past exploit that was explained by Zini and Suri. Aladar wondered on whether she was alone in this place and wanted to find out.

"Hey Hazel?"

"Hm?" she glanced back at him, tearing her away from looking up at the night sky.

"This is going to sound a little out of the blue...but do you have any family?"

"What?"

Aladar lifted a hoof up in "a matter of fact" gesture then set it back down. "You know, do you have any parents? Any siblings? You never really talked about any of that. The only other humans we met here were Nigel and the others in this valley. But I haven't seen anyone in relation to you."

It was at that statement that Hazel felt a pang of sadness in her gut. She looked away from him and onto the ground. She brought up her knees and hugged them tightly. "Um...yeah. Yeah I do."

The dinosaur's left eye ridge went up in a curious manner. "You don't sound too thrilled about them."

She shrugged her shoulders and let out a depressing sigh. "Well, it's complicated. It's not really a subject I like to talk about."

Aladar did not show any reaction to her reply. However, he did want to know why she felt this way about her family. A lot of thoughts began to flow through his mind on the matter. Did her family perish in a disaster? Did they die from something? Did they become separated? Whatever it was, it was making one of his dearest friends feel this way. Even though he wanted to know more about this girl's past, he did not want to push her into talking about it if it hurts so much.

"If you don't want to talk about it," he told her. "Then you don't have to."

Hazel shook her head. "No, it's okay. If you want to know, then I'll start in the beginning."

She then took in a deep breath and began to tell her tale. Aladar listened intently on her story and watched her as she spoke.

"We all lived in a place that was far from here, in a place called Florida. It's much like this valley, except a little different and our home was next to a beach. There was my mom, my dad, my little sister Hanna, and me. We were all one happy family. We did everything together; laugh, cry, go on trips, play together, a lot of other things."

The leader cocked his head in confusion. "That...doesn't sound too bad."

Hazel shrugged her shoulders and continued. "Well...that wasn't until I turned 13." That phrase made him frown at what was going to happen. Something big happened to her, and it was something that pained her greatly. Aladar wanted to know what had happened so that he could be there for her, just like he was with his mate Neera whenever she mourned for her brother and the loss of nearly half their clutch last year at times.

"See, my dad worked alongside Nigel. That is, before this place became Prehistoric Park, they worked on finding ways to travel back in time, studying prehistoric life, and working to support or debunk every single theory people had about the ancient past. One day, my dad left us to go on a trip pertaining to this place. Prehistoric Park at that time wasn't even formed yet, just a bunch of sketches and notes on pieces of paper. He told us he was going to be gone for a while, but he'd be back soon."

It was at that mention of her father that Hazel's eyes started to water. It was slow at first, but the tears began to stream down. The young keeper remembered that very day when the police walked up to the front door. Her mother opened it to see three cops standing there with their hats held over their chests. Her little sister Hanna grabbed onto her mother's leg, wondering what was going on.

Puzzled at the situation and wanting to comfort the human, Aladar bravely asked the near broken Hazel.

"What happened?"

The twenty year old sniffled. Her hands clenched her legs even tighter and brought her knees closer. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed by invisible knives. She never liked talking about that memory, but she made a promise to her friends to not hold any secrets.

"He never came back. Days later, we received news that he was lost at sea...died in the ocean. Our family was never the same since then."

With that truth now revealed, she buried her face into her knees and let out deafening sobs. Aladar quickly took action and put his hoof around Hazel's form. He pulled her in gently to get her to be closer to him. The girl quickly complied and immediately went for his chest area. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried.

The leader lowered his head so that he could crane it over her shoulder in an embrace. He let out shush sounds to ease her pain. He never thought that someone so strong as Hazel would break down like this. He always viewed her as someone who could hold herself in a fight. Apparently, she had internal battles of her own. Then again, he himself went through similar losses; over the years, members of the lemur clan died from natural causes, and he even lost most of them in the destruction of his home last year. He couldn't bear to see Hazel like this, and wanted to help her out of her pain, just like what he did with Neera when she lost her brother and a number of their unborn children that did not make it last year.

"Hey, hey it's okay. I'm here for you. Just let it out," he calmly told her.

"My family was never the same!" she screamed, although it was muffled as her face was buried in his chest. Her grip on him became tighter, which caused some slight irritation to go through his neck due to his wounds, but that wasn't a concern now. She needed to let her emotions go, and that is what he will let her do. "Mom left me and my sister in an attempt to support us by travelling, but she rarely spoke to us! We were left with our grandparents, but they eventually died! A few years later, my sister and I were offered to live with some family friends. Hanna went to live with them because of her closer relations, but that was when Nigel decided to take me in…"

Aladar could not do anything except keep stroking her with his hoof. Hearing Hazel say all of that made him feel even more pity. Some of those phrases like "lost at sea" and "leaving just to support them" were things he did not understand, but he knew that she was left alone.

"Have you...tried to talk to your mother and sister?" he asked her.

Another sniffle came from the young Asian. Once again, her voice broke from the sobbing. "My sister and I still talk, but rarely. She's got her own life. But my mother...I've tried to talk to her, but every time I do, she's always busy! I gave up on trying after a while… There are times when she would try to talk to me, but I'd always shove her away!"

The herd leader let out a quiet gasp. Hazel pushing her own mother away just for trying to talk to her? Aladar could understand the pain of being alone, but being angry at a parent for trying to reconnect with her just seemed out of line. Hazel was being overcome with so much emotional pain...too much of it in fact. He desperately wanted to fix that.

"Hazel, why would you do that?" he questioned her and pulled away from the embrace. The human put her arms down and looked on at him with watery, burning eyes. "That was your mother trying to talk to you."

"Aladar, I don't think you understand what I just said. SHE ABANDONED ME AND MY SISTER! She's spent all that time trying to support us, but where was she when we needed her!? Off at some meeting, or travelling, or working! She never had time for us! When either of us tried to call her, we wouldn't even get a response! Believe me, I tried to contact her, with no luck recently! Then, there were some times when she would try to talk to me again. I thought to myself, 'why bother? She left me to wallow in sorrow; she was never there!' So I treated her the same way she treated me for the past few years! She was never there for me, Aladar! She's no longer welcome in my life!" she screamed at the top of her voice. Her rage was apparent in her eyes and her tone.

The _Iguanodon_ shook his head in total disagreement. Hazel's mother had not been able to contact her daughters very well because she was trying to support her daughters in any way that she could, at least that was what he was gleaning from the situation. How she was supporting them was beyond him, but he could sense that she was doing so somehow. True, he understood why Hazel would be angry with her own mother, but blaming her for that seemed wrong. She was trying to talk to her, but was just pushed away. Aladar could feel her sorrow, and it was growing by the minute.

"Hazel, I know you wouldn't want to hear this, but please hear me out. Losing a parent tragically then having to suffer with having little to no contact with those closest to you is the worst thing in the world. But I think your mother was ashamed for not being there for you. She was doing her best to give a future for you and your sister, all without the help of your father. She wanted to reconnect with you to fix that broken bond, so that things would at least be a step closer to the way they were. And it's from that act of trying to contact you that shows that she still loves you very much. She already lost her mate, and her own daughter pushing her away like that only broke her heart even more. I know it's not my place to intervene, but that's all I know."

Hazel gave him a look of astonishment. She never really thought about that. All she considered was her abandoning her and her sister for years and just crawling her way back to them after all they've been through. Her mother must have known they would be angry with her for leaving them behind, yet she was trying to reach out to her children. Hazel felt ashamed for hating her mother for that small act of love.

"This would have never happened if Dad didn't die…" her voice broke at the mention of her father's demise.

The herd leader brought his face closer to hers so that he would be at eye level with her. The human's eyes widened a little at the closeness of those deep, emerald eyes.

"Sometimes...things that are out of our control happen. I know that isn't something you want to hear, but you along with your sister and your mother are still a family, even though it is broken. I know that deep down, all of you want to be together again. And your father is still with you, Hazel. Even though you can't see him."

"You're asking me to try to talk to my mom again. I pushed her away. How do you know she'll accept me after how I've acted towards her?" she inquired in a near-whisper.

"I know she will still accept you," he answered, giving her a nudge on her chest with his snout. "Just give her another chance, and do the same for yourself."

The girl sighed then nodded in response. A small smile creased across her face. "Thanks Aladar. I needed that."

The sea-colored ornithopod nudged her again with his snout. His action was met by a hug from the human. He closed his eyes to revel in the feeling of the smaller mammal embracing him.

"Does your mother and sister know about this place?" he wondered. He thought that if they did, she could try to get them to come here so that they could try to start over. Unfortunately, that was met by the feeling of the girl shaking her head slowly.

"No, this place is only known by a select few the Park trusts. I told Nigel and everyone else this, but I did not tell my family about this place. If they knew, they would try to take me away, as it reminded them too much of my dad. They feared that any wild adventures I go through would only result in...being like my dad," she told him hesitantly. Hazel's reasoning was crystal clear to Aladar. She did not want her family to worry about her and to take her away from her home. She not only concealed the secret of Prehistoric Park from her family for everyone's protection, but also for her own future.

"I see," Aladar frowned at the regretful thought of Hazel not being able to bring her family here. "If that is the case, try to talk to them when you can."

Hazel chuckled weakly. "Alright. I will."

The dinosaur opened his eyes slightly, meeting the girl's dark brown eyes with pure empathy.

"And one more thing…" he added. "Don't think that you're all alone. You've got Nigel, Marcus, Bob, Suzanne, the entire park, the herd, our friends, and myself here. Like you said before, we are your family. We're all here for you, even when things go dark. We'll always be here…"

Hazel's response to that was an even tighter hug on his snout. His ability to breathe was a little inhibited at the moment, but that did not matter now. Healing Hazel's emotional pain was what mattered to him. Now that he helped mend her hidden, broken heart, he could rest easy knowing that she is better.

"Why do you always have a way with words?" she playfully chided.

He let out a chuckle. "It's just how I am."

"You know, if Neera found us like this, I bet she'd be really jealous," Hazel joked with a devious smirk.

"You are one crazy human…" Aladar rolled his eyes at the playful remark. In truth, if Neera was here, he'd explain to her what was going on...or she would understand that their human friend was going through a plight.

The duo then pulled away so that they could relax. Still within the protective walls of the dinosaur's forelegs, Hazel decided to sit down and observe the stars from where the was. Aladar did the same and joined her in stargazing once more.

Suddenly, right when they got themselves situated, something streaked across the sky in the blink of an eye. From what they could see, it was a small, white streak that was barely thicker than a blade of grass. Hazel saw it and made a really huge smile. The same could not be said for Aladar, however. He was met with utter surprise and a tinge of nervousness.

"Whoa! What was that!?" Aladar exclaimed.

Hazel looked back over at the dinosaur she was sitting in front of and met his eyes. "You mean the thing that zoomed by in half a second?"

"Yeah it looked like a white streak of light or something!"

She let out a breath, doing her best to hide her amusement at his curious reaction. "That my friend, is what's known as a shooting star."

An eye ridge on the dinosaur curved up a little. To him, it looked more like one of those falling rocks that preluded to the coming of the Fireball weeks ago and last year. He was about to fear for everyone in the valley, yet calmed down when Hazel started showing him reassurance. Seeing that she had no fear eased him.

"What's that?"

Hazel stammered in her words a little, trying to find an easy way to tell him. It took her a few moments, but she finally managed to figure out what to say. "It's...hard to explain. But think of it as a special rock that shoots across the sky in a breakneck speed before disappearing. We have a belief here where if you see one, you have to make a wish."

Aladar gave her a stunned expression. He never knew that he could make a wish that way, or even what a wish was. The human noticed his confused manner and explained to him what that term meant.

"A wish is a desire or hope for something to happen. In this case, it's to express that desire for something that's not easy to obtain."

He mouthed an "oh" in confirmation to her definition. "So...you can make any kind of wish?"

Hazel gave him a confident nod. "Any kind of wish. You make one, and it's sure to come true, at least that's what we believe."

"Alright then," he first looked up at the sky, thought long and hard about what he wanted to happen, then looked back at her with an answer. "I wish for a bright and happy future for everyone here."

His wish was met by a short, dry laugh from Hazel. She looked away from the sky and back at him. He could clearly see that she was amused by his wish. He eyed her defensively, prepared to defend his belief.

"You sure you don't want to wish for a whole truckload of ferns for yourself?" she teased him.

He gave her a playful, but stern expression. He did not know what the word "truckload" meant, but he got the gist of what she was saying. Haha. Very funny. I'm not selfish you know. What did you wish for?"

Hazel gave him a little scoff and put a hand on her heart to save face. "Me? I didn't need to make one."

He gave her a questioning look. "You're not going to make one? Why not?"

The human gave him a small smile and looked back up at the stars. She brought her knees closer again and hugged herself. The warmth coming from the dinosaur's body along with his rhythmic breathing brought peace to her.

"Because I have everything that I need right here."

The _Iguanodon_ male glanced at the young woman with a proud look before looking at the celestial dots in the sky. Hazel had her family here, along with a place she could call her home. The same could be said with Aladar as well. He along with his herd and every Resident in the valley were all displaced, yet they were welcomed here with open arms. They belonged here, and they had each other to depend on. For them, that was all they needed to keep going.

The two slept side by side together that night under that same starry sky until the first rays of dawn.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Early morning the next day…..**

After the previous day's exciting events, Prehistoric Park has seemed to have calmed down back and fallen back into routine. Park keepers who were in charge of the early morning shift were blearily tending to the Residents' needs. One such task was insuring all of the prehistoric creatures had breakfast to eat. While the herbivores didn't need to be tended to as intensively, due to them eating their enclosure's foliage, the keepers had to constantly truck large amounts of meat for the carnivores.

The Rex Twins were still enduring their forced co-habitation and had to share their meal in their communal trough. In the Bug House, several park employees dropped a couple shoe-box sized boxes filled to the brim with grasshoppers and cockroaches for an irate scorpion and a hyperactive dragonfly to chase at their leisure. The adult Saber-Cats were feasting on a cow carcass that the keepers craned down, while Suzanne woke up early to personally feed the Saber-Kittens their smaller portions of meat before she took care of her duties of the day. Breezy and her Guild were given their breakfast and were left to their own devices again. Irwin was still inert as the sun's beams slowly crept towards his form. He wouldn't be fully alert until the sun warmed up his naturally cold-blooded body. The only predator that wasn't present to receive his morning meal was Espantos, who was sprinting through Prehistoric Park from enclosure to enclosure.

Ever since Breezy and Espantos started their little "News Network", he was tasked to spread around gossip and current events to his prehistoric neighbors. After he made a short stop to Breezy's _Microraptor Fortress_ to compare notes, Espantos sprinted out to greet each and every Resident with a smile and of the happenings of the park. He was making the last of his rounds, just finishing his news report at T-rex Hill, and was making a beeline towards Prehistoric Park's most recent hostile carnivore.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Meanwhile, at Carnotaurus Quarry…**

Diablo was in a better mood that morning. Of course he still wanted to break out of his human-made prison and slaughter every one of those disgusting mammals on a path towards that blue leaf-sucker's group of timid followers. But alas, he is stuck in this enclosure with no way out, that blasted fence and electric collar made sure of that.

 _'At least I have plenty to eat…'_

The savage carnivore was tearing into his breakfast that the local keepers provided him for that morning. They were prompt delivering Diablo's food, but left just as quickly due to still fearing him; as those disgusting monkeys should. He was about to tear off another chunk of flesh when he heard probably the most annoying creature he has ever encountered, beating even the humans and Aladar and his underlings.

"Hello and welcome to another awesome-possum NEWS UPDATE! With you're host, Espantos— That's me!— and my co-anchor, Mr. Clouds. Say hello Mr. Clouds!" Diablo was just watching the moronic Miocene predator staring up into the sky, expecting it to respond to his cheerful introduction.

The _Carnotaurus_ groan aloud at the pest of the park. It surprised him that a fellow predator has somehow escaped his prison on multiple occasions. Diablo would have tried to convince the Terror Bird to aid him with his own escape, but he soon realized that Espantos was a demonstrable idiot. The 300-lb bird of prey always had a knack of being in places where he shouldn't be and could out run most of the humans; even with their wheeled vehicles. Diablo would have attempted to kill that doltish Terror Bird, but he honestly didn't want to see if Espantos's idiocy was contagious.

Also, the _Phorusrhacos_ had a certain gleam in his that the caged carnivore recognized all too well: the eyes of an intelligent killer. Diablo discovered it when Espantos was rattling off one of his news stories in the past. A stray mammal, which he discovered later was a hyena, was stalking behind the oblivious bird. The _Carnotaurus_ thought he was finally going to watch the annoying Terror Bird get eaten, but the outcome was very different. Apparently, Espantos heard the approaching scavenger because as soon as the giggling mammal lunged through the air at the bird, he turned on his heel and slammed his large beak into the would-be hunter's head. The force of the avian's counter attack shattered the mammal's skull into a multitude of fragments; it was dead before it crashed to the ground. After the gruesome display of savagery, Espantos just continued his childish blathering as if he didn't murder a creature in cold blood. The only addition to his features was the crimson blood of the mammal dripping down the Terror Bird's lethal beak. It honestly put the massive carnivore off balance and slight unease when he witnessed that. He knew that intelligent predators are threats, much like himself, but an unpredictable, and most likely insane, predators are truly dangerous since no one can ever get a read on them. Diablo may just be paranoid, but he would reserve his judgment on Espantos before jumping to any conclusions.

The carnivore just sighed as he resumed his breakfast as he half listened to the _Phorusrhacos_ drone on his little "news report".

"— Thank you Mr. Clouds! I have been working out! In other news, Prehistoric Park's mating season has come to an end, so that means it is safe to venture out, and no more 'Hey-Chicka-Bum-Bums' for Oddie and Thena. Also, Leader Ornith of the _Ornithomimus_ Flock has sixty-four new eggs on the way from eight different family pairs, bringing up the total to potentially one hundred fourteen if they make it. On a related note, it is the youngling _Ornithomimuses'_ hatch-day, making them three years old. Happy Hatch-day! Coming from the talented Breezy's side of things, it is now nearing week six and my First Friend Nigel Marven has yet to plan any more trips through the Rift—" Diablo would have found this chatter unbearable, but with nothing to actually do in his enclosure he figured he would at least listen to current events of the Park; even if the source of it came from Espantos's childish beak. He was about to tune the bird out entirely when he heard a report that caught his attention.

"Let's see what else is there? OH! I almost forgot! Did you know that there was a fight yesterday?"

News of a violence breaking out in the seemingly dull park sparked interest from the confined predator. "Really? Never thought this boring place would have enough conflict to incite a squabble, let alone a full blown fight."

"Oh yeah, it was awesome! So much blood, and broken bones, and bruises everywhere!"

"Humph, I'm surprised they didn't kill you for being the most annoying creature in the world…" Diablo quipped as he continued to munch on his breakfast. The Terror Bird just continued regaling the theropod with the events of the previous day.

"It was between that Knee-Rows guy and A-Ladder! You should have seen it. They were spiking each other, whacking each other with their tails, and socking each other all over their bodies! The new buddies from the Rift were there too!"

Diablo stopped eating and perked his head up at the bird.

"What did you say?" The predator slowly asked, his attention now fully focused on Espantos.

"Yeah, the meanie-greenie Knee-Rows guy got his tail kicked by that the blue A-Ladder guy. Then everyone was super happy for A-Ladder winning! Except for me… I didn't get to eat the yummy meats from the loser's carcass! Oh well, maybe next time. Anyways, Knee-Rows is going to be in time out in the Holding Pens near the Rift machine thingy and will be scheduled to be released in a few days. That's enough of the news for now. Mr. Clouds! What does the weather look like?!" As Espantos was having a one-sided conversation with a drifting cloud, Diablo was silently musing to himself.

' _So that blue wretch has gotten into a petty squabble with another one of his ilk, most likely a dispute in leadership against a disgruntled follower.'_

The only good thing about the keepers besides keeping him fed and watered was the gossip that they told each other near his paddock. They wouldn't shut up about a temperamental green _Iguanodon_ stirring up trouble in the Valley section where the Herd is located. Knowing enough about his prey's naming conventions, and being able to slightly interpret Espantos's verbal dump, he figured the unruly dinosaur was Nero. By the sound of the gossip, it seemed that the blue leaf-sucker had beaten down Nero. Diablo was almost impressed with how savage the green dinosaur was against Aladar. _Almost_ , Nero was still a disgusting leaf-sucker from that blue wretch's herd.

' _Heh, who knew herbivores could act savage like me.'_ Just as he was about to reach down for another bite of meat, he paused. _'"Like me"… if I was Nero, I'd be pissed at not getting my revenge against that blue meat-bag._ _That green Iguanodon would be looking for retribution. I might be able to use that to my advantage.'_ Refocusing on Espantos, who was apparently in an argument with the weather anomaly, he put on a disarming predatory grin.

"That is a very interesting story Espantos!" The Terror Bird paused his in depth discussion with Mr. Clouds. He just looked at the _Carnotaurus_ in front of him with his head tilted.

"Really 'Devil-Oh'?" Espantos commented at the incorrectly named carnivore. As far as he could recall, this was the first time any-creature complimented on his courier services without trying to "Strike-Tag" his face. Diablo just kept up his ruse, ignoring the idiot bird's misidentification.

"Yes Espantos. It is a really cool story. Hey, I have an idea. Can you get 'Knee-Rows' to come here? I want to get to play by play details from him." Diablo then tore off a substantial chunk of meat from his meal. "I'll even pay you for your troubles buddy!" _Carnotaurus_ proceeded to toss the chunk of flesh over his enclosure's fence, landing it right at the _Phorusrhacos's_ feet. Espantos was just staring at the offered gift with wide eyes and his beak hung loosely open. He clicked his beak closed and smiled at the seemingly generous carnivore.

"You got it Mr. Devil-Oh! I'll get him here as soon as his time out is done." Espantos said before he tore into his payment with much gusto. He did miss breakfast after all.

As the Terror Bird was eating, Diablo grunted slightly as he realized something. ' _Even if I somehow get that Nero to come my way and break me out, the blue leaf-sucker would just gather up his peons and "Stand Together" against me like last time. I have to get creative...'_

As he was thinking up of ways to defeat the Herd's unity, he recalled an event that has happened before he arrived. Of how a tiny _Troodon_ managed to spook a sauropod and somehow threw Prehistoric Park into chaos when the klutzy long-necked dinosaur crashed into a number of different Resident's enclosure. From what he heard, the park was in complete disarray. The horned carnivore gave off a sinister grin.

' _If I can cause a little havoc to the other Residents when I get out,_ _ **they**_ _could do the hard work for me!'_ Diablo was beginning to hatch a plan as he addressed the feasting bird of prey.

"Espantos, would you happen to know where and how many Residents there are from here to the Valley section?"

Espantos threw back his head to swallow the chunk of flesh in his mouth before talking. "Um… the short way or the long way?"

"The long way if you don't mind" Diablo's gaze gained a scheming glint. Soon he'll crush that blue- wretch in his jaws, just like his predecessor. But not before he takes everything away from him first, like what he did to him.

 _Darksage: *bawls eyes out* Oh Hazel you poor thing!_

 _Marc: *puts a hand on her shoulder and hands her a box of tissues* There, there…here have some._

 _*Darksage grabs the box of tissues and takes at least twenty out*_

 _*Marc turns to the audience*_

 _Marc: Sorry guys, looks like Darksage here is caught up in the emotions from that last bit. Gotta admit though, it was a pretty sad moment._

 _Darksage: *cries even louder and then blows her nose onto the tissue*_

 _Marc: Anyway…yeah the chapter was a little short, but more are on the way. As of right now, Chapter 21 is in the works. And it looks like trouble is brewing in the valley…again. Will Diablo succeed in his plan for revenge? Will everybody be able to survive the coming storm? Find out next time on Extinction Lasts Forever! Stay tuned for the next chapter!_

 _*leads Darksage outside*_

 _Marc: Okay Sage, let's go out for some ice cream. That'll do you some good._

 _Darksage: *sniffle* Okay…_


	21. Deal with the Devil

Feeble pests, hairless apes, disgusting little insects. Those were the names Nero called the creatures known as humans. Their strange conversations he overheard in the past few weeks about "tech-know-lodges", "medi-synes", and the ilk about the world they live in confused him to no end. Even what the humans did to his body surprised him.

One minute, he was lying on the ground, losing consciousness thanks to the human Hazel. His injuries he received from his battle against Aladar were fresh, blood seeping onto the grass. The next, he awoke in the same spot, only this time, his wounds were all healed. The wounds had closed up, but still shone on him like darkened, displaced stripes and spots. The ornithopod's hide had darker shades of green on him, but he knew they would disappear. He hated Hazel and her kind for their knowledge on the Fireball and for standing together with his superior, but he could not help but be the slightest bit impressed at their handiwork. Granted that his injuries were still a little sore.

He had deduced that the humans brought him to some part of the park where they could safely operate on his injuries. Thinking of that also made him realize why Hazel had knocked him out; it was so that he would not hurt anyone. Seeing that his wounds had been somewhat recovered meant that he was out for quite some time. A clever move on the human's part, but it was still something he abhorred. He hated getting help from others.

For the past hour or so in the early afternoon, Nero had been walking around the entirety of Prehistoric Park. Earlier, he had been wandering through the Valley sector just to get a bite to eat. In the past, the other members of the herd would veer out of his way in fear whenever he approached either of them or passed them by. This time, they did the same, but they also gave him cold stares and scowls. Nero ignored their reactions, but he felt a hint of anger when he received that treatment. He did not know why, but he was beginning to feel affected by them.

" _Why am I feeling sentimental whenever they do that to me?"_ he mulled over as he continued his walk through the valley. _"They are supposed to fear me, yet…now they view me as if I were some kind of outsider."_

There were even a few members of the herd that would chase him off or threaten him should he come closer. This mostly came from the ceratopsian members, including the little _Microceratus_ , though their attempts were ignored or unnoticeable by the burly _Iguanodon_. The ceratopsians would just roar at the passerby and then attempt to charge at him. Of course, Nero had the gall to argue, but doing so earned him one large bruise on his right leg from one of the _Pachyrhinosaurus_. His leg now aching from the brutal impact of the knobby horn, Nero quickly limped away from the oppressors and the rest of the herd.

As he continued his walk towards the main portion of the park to find a more secluded place to eat, he encountered a number of humans on the way towards the Herd's grounds. Nero had explored some bit of the park in the past few weeks, but did so discreetly. He did not trust any of the Residents in this place and he did not want to encounter any stray humans.

Their reactions towards the incoming green _Iguanodon_ were a combination of wariness and fear. Seeing the humans scramble from his presence as he passed somewhat satisfied the dinosaur. At least, to a certain point. He noticed on their backs the peculiar wooden sticks he saw back when he battled against Aladar. He eyed the weapons with a burning desire to snap them in two. Yet, he knew that the humans had those weapons, him as the driving source. Nero knew from his previous encounter with that sort of weapon that he would be put to sleep should he step out of line.

Just then, the sound of clicks and a cocking sound stopped him in his tracks. The burly oppressor snapped his head to his right and noticed one of the humans along with his friends pointing their sticks at him. The feeble creatures trembled at the sight of his massive muscular form. Their arms were positioned at the ready on the weapons, ready to take action should he attack.

Nero merely glared at them and snorted in irritation. "What are you insects looking at?"

The humans gave no indication towards his threat. It took him a moment before he realized that they could not understand him at all, unlike that brat Hazel. The small group of four kept eyeing him warily and then back at each other. Their nervous reactions were accompanied by whispering amongst themselves along with permissions to shoot him if need be.

To Nero, their loitering was getting really annoying. He let out a loud bellow and gave them a mock charge. The humans ran away screaming, a satisfactory result of his ruse. The dinosaur shook his head then continued walking.

"Stupid humans…" he muttered to himself. "How can they be so resilient when they are so small and feeble?"

His wanderings eventually led him to the very border of the Valley sector and into another part of the Park. The grasses he tread on became shorter and denser. No humans were around him, which brought some relief to the ornery ornithischian. The only creatures there were the large gray mammals with those long trunks at their faces that wandered around. He did overhear some humans and other dinosaurs mention these creatures being called elephants.

When he came closer to them, the present day animals caught sight of the stranger and started to eye him with caution. A few of them even got into defensive stances at his appearance, their tusks lowered in preparation for a charge should he get too close. Nero may be bigger than them by a little bit, but his lack of knowledge on these creatures inhibited his analyses on whether they were weak or not. Plus, he would not dare attack a herd with those white horns unless he was threatened.

Fortunately for the elephant herd, the _Iguanodon_ was in no mood to deal with them. His stomach impeded his decision to create a confrontation with the present day residents. The green herbivore gave them a huff before turning away from them. In no time at all, he was out of their range. Even though he had no quarrel with them, he did not want anything to do with any strange creatures. The herd already shared their living space with lemurs, and now they are doing the same with a multitude of other creatures. All of which he distastes.

Eventually, he arrived at the western portion of the park. His mind was lost in the thoughts for wanting to escape this damned place. The more he mulled in his negative thoughts, the angrier he got. However, he was pulled away from his mental wanderings by the sound of a very annoying greeting.

"Hello hello!" a voice squawked from off to his right.

The dinosaur snapped his head in that direction. Coming towards him was a ten foot tall flightless bird with yellow feathers and black streaks going down from his face to his body. Three white feathers with black tips stuck up on the top of his head. His beak was so large that it could be strong enough to crush a bone in half. The bird's wings may be small, but his feet were large with over sized talons. Nero knew that he was looking at a carnivore, one that was built for speed. But he also noticed something off about this bird; it was his eyes. His gray-colored eyes radiated a childlike innocence instead of a conniving, menacing aura from predators he had come across.

In fact, after getting a good look at the incoming avian, he noticed that he had encountered this creature before. It was back when he battled with his rival Aladar. Nero had only caught a slight glimpse of the predatory avian in the gathered crowd and heard him cheering for his enemy. His memory of that incident made him hate this creature.

The bird stopped just a few feet from him with a skid. Dirt welled up from the ground in a small dust cloud before disappearing. "Phew, I finally found you Mr. Knee-Rows!"

Nero grunted in irritation at the incorrect mention of his name. "Buzz off birdbrain!"

Espantos gasped and gave him a playful look along with a giggle. "Uh oh…someone's a little cranky today. Looks like you need a new friend to cheer you up!"

"Not interested, now beat it before I turn you into feathered mush!" he hissed threateningly.

"My name is Espantos and I am a _Phorusrhacos_ , or Terror Bird as the humans call me," the predatory bird introduced, completely ignoring the forest one's threat. Nero merely stared at him in complete bewilderment at the misfit's obliviousness and cheerfulness. "I am from the grass plains of South America in the Miocene period. I like to play games, talk, roll in the dirt, and make new friends. Ooh I know! Would you like to be my friend?"

Nero marched up to the Miocene predator until he was within mere inches of the bird's face. His steely eyes met the childlike gaze of the _Phorusrhacos_. "Listen here you simple-minded twit, I'm not in the mood to socialize, especially with an idiot like you. Now if you value your life, you will leave me alone!"

A moment of silence passed between the two. Espantos looked upon the bigger creature with complete indifference, which confused Nero as to whether he understood the warning or not. When he opened his mouth, he expected the bird to agree to it and walk away. But instead, he got the complete opposite.

"Speaking of new friends, my buddy Devil-oh would like to speak with you, now that you're up and walking again. Looks like the humans did a fantastic job with patching you up! Good for them! Anyway, he's just further down this way," he said and gestured behind him with a movement of his head. He then looked back at the ornery dinosaur, who now had the look that spelled his desire to kill him. However, Espantos did not seem phased by the danger he was getting into. "Just follow me and I'll lead you to him!"

Nero let out a low growl and gritted his teeth. "Don't know him, don't care. Now you've got ten seconds to scram before I add red to your colors."

"Oh yeah! I saw your fight with A-ladder a few days ago!" the bird squawked with excitement. "It was awesome! Lots of blood and bones breaking! Though I was cheering on A-ladder, no offense! Such a good guy, we're practically buddies now. Oh don't worry, I know you're feeling bad about not winning. I'm sure he'll give you another chance for a round 2. And maybe next time, I can cheer for you both!"

The mention of the bird cheering for one of his hated enemies made Nero's anger skyrocket. The nerves in his brain snapped and his eyes filled with rage. Even Espantos' own stupidity added to the fire. Nero let out a roar into the sky.

"That's it! You're dead!" he hollered then raised his hoof up.

The dinosaur attempted to stab the Miocene denizen in the side with his thumb spike, but only hit air. Espantos dodged by jumping back with his quick reflexes. Nero expected him to be cowering in fear then running, but was only met by a little cheer from the bird.

"Ooh! Are we playing tag now? Yay! Not it!" Espantos laughed then took off running in the opposite direction.

Nero, wanting to kill the bird for being the most annoying thing in the world at the moment, took part in the chase. He chased the bird throughout most of the western portion of the park. He may have his strength, but his sheer size hindered him as Espantos topped him with his speed.

The chase lasted for what seemed to be a few minutes. The Residents in the area, including Theo and Ellie, along with any keepers in the area, watched in confusion as the Iguanodon chased after the crazy Espantos. As they ran, the predator's laughs only got louder as he reveled in the supposed game. Every time his chaser got close enough for him to attack, Espantos would just veer out of the way. This caused Nero's frustration to rise even more.

Eventually, Espantos had led him to a certain area of the park. Unlike the rest of the vicinity, this place was devoid of any keepers for some apparent reason. But Nero did not even notice as he was focused on killing the ground avian. Unfortunately for him, Espantos was just too fast and his own stamina was depleted.

Nero slowed to a stop and panted. His eyes were on the ground then at the misfit bird that escaped ahead of him. His distance became greater with each second that passed and dust clouds erupted from the trails of his footfalls. If Nero had been paying attention, he would have noticed that he was in front of an enclosure that had tall wooden fences that surrounded a partially forested habitat. The area was large enough for a big solitary animal, but he paid no mind to that at the moment.

"Get back here you feathered freak!" he roared at him. His command was too faint for the bird to hear because he was now too far away.

The _Iguanodon_ let out a bellow of irritation and stomped on the ground with a hoof. The herd being taken to this place after the Fireball destroying their home, being with creatures that have no business in meddling with their lives, having to and losing to your most hated foes had driven Nero off the edge. Now there was this idiotic bird that had the potential to drive others insane merely by showing off his stupidity.

"This place is no paradise," Nero shook his head in annoyance. "It's a glorified deathtrap! If I were the leader, I would lead them away from this place or force the humans to take us home!" But no! Aladar and the herd want to stay here in this strange new world!"

In his loud tirade, he began to pace back and forth. His wounds ached from his recent chase on the Espantos bird and his now occurring rant. But his injuries were the least of his worries. He faced worse before, and these wounds were nothing.

"If I weren't in this situation, I would have his head on a platter. That is my herd he is leading; my position I trained hard to get! And what happened!? A rookie with little to no experience beat me to it!" he bellowed in rage. "Then there is that blasted human female; standing in my way every single damn time! Right when my goal is within my grasp, she steps in my way! Nothing would please me more than to crush her with my bare hooves! But she has the protection of the herd and everyone…"

Nero then stopped his pacing and looked up at the sky with complete shame. His eyes were near tears, but he held them back as he trained himself that crying was a sign of weakness. He did this in order make himself appear strong in his emotional state. "If Kron were here, he would only see me as a disgrace to his name…"

Unbeknownst to the _Iguanodon_ , he was being watched the entire time. He heard a laugh from nearby. Its voice was like the very rocks of the earth shaking mixed with the crash of thunder from a storm.

"Well well well...if it isn't the herd's underdog."

Nero let out a quiet gasp and turned around to the source of the noise. Slowly maneuvering to that one direction revealed the large enclosure that he was pacing in front of. Last he viewed that enclosure, it was devoid of anything, save for the forest it contained. However, this time, something was now standing behind the wooden bars of the makeshift habitat. The creature the _Iguanodon_ beheld sent shivers down his spine and the cold tinge of fear down his heart.

He had seen many creatures in his life, but this one he knew all too well. It was as tall as a tree with a crimson hide and small horns over parts of its body. The head was broad and stout with a jagged row of teeth in its mouth. The gigantic two-legged beast had two defining features that stood out above most predators he had seen; the menacing devilish eyes and the horns that jutted above them. There was no mistaking it, Nero was looking at a _Carnotaurus_.

"I suppose the phrase "all brawn and no brain" plays well for you," the creature, apparently male, rumbled with laughter. "These days, no one would stay long enough in my presence, but you're one of the foolish ones to remain here."

The herbivore backed up in complete terror. Nero had seen a number of the predators in the park, but had no interest in trying to get to know them. The law of herbivores and carnivores being natural enemies was something he followed heavily. Even that Espantos bird was a conundrum, but he had only met the predatory bird for a brief moment. However, finding out that one of his natural enemies was able to speak to him was something he never thought was possible. "You! How can you be talking!? Predators like you can't talk!"

Diablo let out a snort. "Of course we can talk; every living thing can. We just choose not to talk to you leaf-suckers."

Nero squinted his eyes at him. His curiosity now getting the better of his mind, even though he remained cautious around the captive carnivore. "Who are you then?"

"I am known as Diablo. Like all of the creatures here in this valley, I too was displaced from my time. I was "rescued" by the human brat known as Hazel a while back," the bull lizard introduced with a hint of venom in his tone at the mention of the human woman.

The outcast shook his head and let out a scoff. "That feeble hairless ape? Figures, I heard that this valley housed predators, but I never thought she would stoop so low as to rescue a predator like you. Your kind has been hunting my herd for too long!"

The Carnotaur opened his maw into a sarcastic smile. Even though he was showing pure interest in the matter, his expression also contained a bit of hatred. Especially from his horrible yellow eyes. "Ah yes...that herd. But you speak as if you are its leader. Yet, if I can recall correctly, you lost your chance at leadership days ago to the blue grass-chewer."

Nero eyed him in complete confusion. How in the world would a predator know about the fight he had with Aladar? Did that Espantos bird tell him? Did any of those apes gossip about it while he was out? "How do you know about that? And of the leader?"

Diablo let out a terrifying chortle for a few moments. The action confused the herbivore greatly as to why the predator found his questions amusing. To him, it felt like the very earth was shaking at the very sound of his laughter, like some kind of earthquake was bound to happen. Nero was not much of a coward, but he always had a fearful disposition towards predators under his tough exterior.

"Let's just say word travels around fast. As for my knowledge of your superior, let's say we've...crossed paths some time ago. It was he and his friends that nearly killed me. In fact, it was your herd that robbed me of my chance of an easy meal!" he said with pure anger in his voice.

It was at that moment Nero realized what kind of monster he was dealing with. Deep within the recesses of his memory, he recalled the day the herd was backed into a corner by a certain predator. The rocks behind them blocked their only way home. Their only way out was through the canyon, but that meant going up towards the demon dinosaur. Nero remembered that day well; it was the day the herd stood up to the Carnotaur and survived, but it was also the day the herd received a new leader as well. A leader that he abhorred greatly.

Nero's eyes widened in complete shock. His mind raced with the memories of the past, until he finally comprehended this stark realization. "You! You're the Carnotaur from before!"

"Indeed I am," Diablo nodded nonchalantly.

The _Iguanodon_ gave him a scorned expression. "Your kind has haunted us for generations. I don't know what kind of business you have with me. Whatever it is, I want no part of it!"

The horned demon snorted at the refusal he heard. "Oh I think you will, once you hear what I have to say."

Nero turned around and began to walk away, eager to leave the scene and the carnivore he unintentionally struck a conversation with. "Stow it!"

"You and I have some things in common, things that we despise. You despise your leader for taking your dream position and the human girl for standing in your way every time. I have my own reasons to hate them," Diablo started. His reasoning made the dinosaur turn around again to face him. His eyes were filled with a tinge of curiosity, but was overshadowed by the fear and hatred he had for the animal.

The herbivore narrowed his eyes. "So we both have ones to hate. What of it?"

Diablo cocked his head up in a haughty manner to show his superiority over the underdog male. He shook his head to cause a few oncoming birds to leave him be before replying. "What if I gave you a chance at redemption? To get back at those two for ruining your life? Think about it; once they're out of the way, you won't have to worry about who will lead your herd."

The forest green one took a few steps forward until he was mere inches from the cage. In turn, the crimson devil dinosaur lowered his head so that his steely reptilian eyes could meet his. Nero gritted his teeth at the very thought of even conversing with this beast, yet he wanted to hear what this monster had to say about this offer on dealing with those he hated.

"Go on…" he gestured for him to continue.

"I can help you with that. But...only if you let me out of this prison," Diablo simply replied. His response was a sharp laughter from the wretch before him.

"Release you? Please! What makes you think I should release you? If I do, then you'll just go about doing as you please, or try to kill me."

"Oh don't worry, you have nothing to worry about," the bull lizard tentatively reassured. His calming tone strangely dropped Nero's guard like a mother would to her child. The feeling scared Nero a little, but he was still eager on what he had to say. "My only wish is to kill those that have wronged us both. Now I'll say it again; if you release me, I will kill your enemies. I will get my chance at freedom while you will get what you wish."

The _Iguanodon_ looked down at the ground at that statement. He wanted to get back at Aladar and Hazel for always getting in his way. If he let Diablo out, he would be able to get the leadership position he always desired. The herd would follow him without question and he would be free to treat everyone in the valley the way he pleased, even get back at the humans for always annoying him.

That was a sound thought, however, he also considered the negative consequence if he did do this. If he released Diablo, there is a big chance that he would go back on his word. He may hate Aladar and Hazel for his own reasons, but he may also go after him and everyone else in the valley. The herd would view him as a traitor, however with Aladar and Hazel out of the way, he would force them to bow down to him. Nero let out a snort and eyed the predator in submission.

"Well, do we have a deal?" Diablo earnestly asked the herbivore. Moments later, he finally got an answer he wanted.

"How do I release you?"

Diablo turned his head over to a particular contraption nearby his compound. Nero looked in that direction and beheld a sleek, gray, oddly shaped rock that lay stationed a few feet from the bars of the enclosure. To them, it looked like a pile of boulders that seemingly attached to each other and had streaks of blue shining across the surface edges like small streams. Nero had no idea what this thing was, but Diablo had an idea. He saw the humans work on this thing a few times in the past. He even overheard the human known as Marcus telling his fellow co workers on how it worked, along with its purpose.

"You see that odd-looking contraption over there? That is the one thing that allows the accursed ring on my leg to hurt me. If you destroy that, I will be able to break free without a problem. Of course, I cannot do anything from where I am at, but with outside help-"

His explanation was cut off when the ornithopod made a mad dash for the machine. Once close enough, he reared up on his hind legs until he was high enough. Then, with a roar, he stomped his forelegs down onto the human craft, nearly flattening it. The sound of it was almost deafening to both dinosaurs' ears. The noise that accompanied it had a down pitch, similar to the cry of an herbivore letting out its last breath. Stray blue sparks erupted from the destroyed machine and bits of metal stuck up from where they were once connected. What was once an operating piece of technology that held Diablo in was now a flattened piece of junk.

Diablo grinned at what he had just seen. He reared his head up, took a few steps back, and then charged. Breaking through the fence was a piece of cake now that the only thing that limited his strength was destroyed. Splinters of wood and pieces of the wall crashed onto the grass. The smaller bits flung all over the place like little bugs. He shook his head and then let out a victorious roar on his escape. The demon then quieted and walked over to the herbivore that stood before the wreckage.

Nero, now panting, turned around at the sound of the Carnotaur's heavy footfalls. He looked up at the predator that was now back in his former glory.

"You have my thanks, green one," his nodded in terrifying gratitude.

"I did what you asked. Now do the other end of the deal!" Nero ordered the monster before him.

Diablo let out a huff and then gave him a sadistic smile. "Yes, of course. A deal is a deal my friend. You won't have to worry about who will be leader any longer."

The green ornithischian gave him a questioning look at the mention of that curious statement. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I am going to SLAUGHTER your herd and have my revenge against Aladar and his feeble followers. And it's all thanks to you," the carnivore told him with a toothy grin.

Diablo's temporary ally gasped and took a few steps back, only to have his legs meet the broken metal of the generator that kept this monster in his pen. "You...you monster! You said you would help me!"

"Oh it's been so long since I stretched these legs. Since you released me, I will spare you the slow and torturous death I had planned. Instead, I'll make it quick, meat!" Diablo laughed and then brought his head up. His maw opened to a large extent, he then quickly brought his mouth down onto the herbivore, teeth at the ready.

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Meanwhile...

Marcus' workshop

Marcus had just finished adjusting some wires in the mainframe of one communicator. Considering that it had only been a few days since he made the first one, he managed to make at least five. It took quite a bit of practice, but he was well under way on creating enough earpieces for every staff member in the park.

If anyone passed by his workshop at the moment, they would see it in a worse condition than normal times. Tools were strewn all over the place, wires and bolts were scattered everywhere, and spare parts decorated the edges of the table. The only other items on there besides the tools and parts were a nearly finished communicator and a black walkie-talkie. In the back of his shed, a black speaker system that was hooked up to his smartphone via a cable played Drowning Pools "Bodies".

There were times when Marcus would listen to music while he worked. This time being one of them. His head would nod at times and he would even lip sync with the songs. In fact, this was one of his favorites.

His right hand held on to the pliers and slowly reached for one of the wires within the communicator he worked on. The console lid was open and showed the numerous wires and parts within. He was nearly done with it and just needed to attach a few more things to the main chip. The pliers on the fourth to last wire, he cautiously brought it close to one of the bolts to tie it around…

" _JULIE TO EVERYONE IN THE PARK! WE HAVE A MAJOR SITUATION HERE! DIABLO HAS ESCAPED HIS ENCLOSURE! I REPEAT! DIABLO HAS ESCAPED HIS ENCLOSURE! THIS IS A CODE RED!"_

The engineer dropped his tool and screamed as he fell back on his seat. The chair hit the dirt ground hard with a slam. Marcus' head throbbed from the impact he had just experienced. His hand ran through the back of his head for any injuries, which thankfully there weren't any. Otherwise he would have hit his orange ATV that was just a couple feet away from his desk.

But there was no time to think about his body. His assistant's words ran through his head like a mad animal stampede. He quickly got up and grabbed the walkie-talkie that was situated on the table. Pressing the speaker button on the left side of the box, he then brought it close to him.

"Uh Julie, could you say that one more time? I could've sworn you said something crazy. Did you just say Diablo had _escaped_?" he questioned his assistant through the radio and released the speaker-trigger, doing his best to hide the fear that was building up within him. His heart raced and adrenaline rushed through his veins as he tried to see if he were hallucinating or not about the Park's ill-tempered carnivore breaking out.

Wanting to make sure he heard everything correctly, he grabbed the black remote he kept for the speaker system in his pocket. Pressing the small, gray square button at the bottom middle caused the music to cease.

 _"Sir, I meant every word I said!"_ She then let out a scream, which was then followed by a loud crash in the background. Screams from other people followed as well.

Marcus cursed under his breath then screamed into the radio. "WHAT THE HELL!? The Barrier Poles we put up in the enclosures in the Park are state of the art! How could that Demon BUST OUT!? Did someone crash their jeep into his Security Generator!?"

" _Sir, there was no one around! Me and a few keepers came to his enclosure when we heard the roars in the area_!"

The man let out a sharp breath then spoke again. He created the barrier poles along with the generators that accompanied them. Each of the enclosures in the park, save for the Bug House, the Valley Sector, the _Microraptor_ Aviary, and others that did not need much security, were outfitted with nearby generators. Those contraptions were powered by that one power source, and should anything happen to the generator, then the poles would power down, giving the animal the opportunity to escape without getting hurt by the electric shocks.

"Julie, how did Diablo escape?" he slowly spoke into the radio in a calmer, yet more stressed out tone. He released the button to hear an answer come out.

The woman cried out in terror at the nearby sounds of carnage, which included the sounds of breaking wood and metal. Marcus perked his head and looked out the exit of his shed. The sound was faint, but he could tell that the destruction was nearby. When the chaos quieted down, the woman spoke again.

" _Something...smashed the security generator! It's as if it's been flattened to the ground! It wasn't us because none of the keepers were around and all of our vehicles were accounted for."_

It was then that Marcus decided to investigate for himself. He went over to the back of his shed to where his computers were. His monitors were all arranged in a semicircle fashion on the separate table he had in the back. All of which were hooked up to the satellite pole outside. As the head engineer, Marcus was also given the privilege of having access to all of the security cameras in the park. The cameras were set up as a way for people to monitor the Residents whether it was health related or just to analyze their behavior. In this case, they were also used to make sure that none of them would cause any chaos, like that one time a few years ago when one of the _Borealosaurus_ had inadvertently caused the near-destruction of the park.

Marcus hurriedly got into the rolling chair that was situated on a smooth gray mat and began to type away. The screens that once showed the schematics for various projects around the park, including some research on solutions to the budget crisis he had on the left screen, shifted to the images all the cameras showed at that moment. He scanned all of the cameras and noticed the keepers rushing in all directions towards where the _Carnotaurus_ was. His answer was in the image at the top right corner of the screen. Looking closely, he could see the crimson predator running then crashing into the fence that led into _Triceratops_ Creek.

Various voices clamored in his radio nearby. He could hear the yells of the other keepers, Bob, and even his boss Nigel giving orders to everyone in the park to subdue the beast. He wanted to help out, but first he wanted to see how the devil dinosaur broke out. Looking over at the right computer monitor, he focused on the largest image at the top left.

In the image, he saw the fence already broken down, with splinters of wood everywhere. The generator a few feet away had been smashed into pieces. The good thing about this camera was that it was situated in a way where he could see that part of the enclosure and the generator that was nearby. Wanting to know what happened earlier, he typed various codes on his sleek ebony keyboard. Instantly, the screen showed white streaks across that part of the frame and the video started to rewind. The images were blurred and he could see two shapes. Stopping the screen at the right time, he noticed that the smaller shape was of a familiar green _Iguanodon_ and right across from the creature was Diablo himself.

Marcus gasped. The image showed the ornithopod rushing over to the generator nearby and smashing it to pieces. Moments later, the _Carnotaurus_ backed up then charged up to the fence, breaking the barrier into pieces. The man pressed the space key on his keyboard, not wanting to see the rest of it. He then went over to his radio and pressed the button.

"Everyone! This is Marcus! Anyone with a stun gun had better get to _Triceratops_ Creek now! Amp up the voltage to maximum if you need to! Just stop that monster before he destroys everything!"

Letting go of the button, he slammed the radio on his desk then took out his cell phone. From the stories he heard from Nigel and Hazel, he knew that this beast had a vendetta against the herd in the valley. He knew they needed to be warned. He pressed the button on the top of his smartphone and activated the screen. Marcus punched in his four digit code, which then caused the screen to switch over to his Iron Man wallpaper with his various apps. He pressed the Contacts app at the lower left and searched for the one person he knew was in the Valley sector. He needed to call Hazel.

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Sometime later...that same afternoon

The Valley Sector

With all of the events that occurred over the past few weeks, Aladar wanted to have a relaxing day, devoid of any problems. The wounds he received from his battle days ago were healing and were at the point where the bandages were no longer needed. The feel of being free from those artificial bindings relieved the cerulean male. Although, the itchiness from the still recovering battle injuries irritated him at times. However, he knew they would heal with time. Sadly, the same could not be said for his burns. Aladar knew they would take a long time to heal, or even stay with him for the rest of his life. They were something he had to live with.

Everyone was gathered at the lake. Baylene, Eema, Martha, and Url lounged at the shore while all of his children, their friends, Plio and family played in the water. The mammoth, now welcomed to the friend circle, frequently brought her adopted niece to the Valley sector so that she could be with her friends. Although she still received warning signs and cautious reactions from the rest of the herd, she did her best to not let that get the best of her.

Flia was off with Hazel in the park, and from what the Aladar could glean from the previous encounter he had with them earlier, they were headed to visit Nigel about an important matter. The only one who lay by his side was his mate Neera, who was looking on at the small playful group in the lake. The day started off as normal...at least, until an unexpected visitor arrived.

"Aladar! Neera!" a gruff and desperate voice called from off to everyone's right.

They turned their heads expecting to see some herd member like Sarge greeting them due to the similarity in that tone. Unfortunately, their answer was completely different. The faces of the whole group, including the other dinosaurs that were gathered at the lake for a drink or passing by, gave the newcomer a sour gaze. Even those in the water stopped their splashing and playing to see what was going on. The one that was coming towards them was none other than Nero.

Witnessing the green _Iguanodon_ approaching the alphas was unexpected and immediately put them on their guard. However, what surprised them even more was the state he was in.

Aladar and Neera had no idea what to make of the situation. Or more specifically, how some dinosaur as tough as Nero could get so beat up in a short amount of time. True, he did receive some well-deserved punishment a few days earlier for trying to usurp leadership of the herd, but that was predicted. This time, however, no one expected Nero to return to the valley limping and bloody. His life substance dripped with each step, leaving a trail of crimson splotches behind him. The _Iguanodon's_ gigantic claw marks and distinctive bite mark on his back left everyone wondering what had happened to the bully when they weren't looking.

"Oh boy...look who decided to ruin the party…" Eema groaned. Next to her, Martha the mammoth slapped her forehead with her trunk in annoyance at the appearance of the unruly male. Url hid behind the immense sauropod amongst them, attempting to hide himself from the intruder.

Nearby the alphas just gave each other wary looks before turning their attention to the wounded _Iguanodon_. Although they did not want to have anything to do with Nero, they could not refuse his request to see them. After all, his wounds were also attracting everyone's attention. The smell of the trail of blood he was leaving created a metallic stench in the air.

"What is it now Nero?" Neera schooled her appearance into a more polite gesture. She did very well to hide her anger towards the attempted usurper, but only at an extent.

"Yeah what happened to you?" Zini playfully snarked from nearby. "Did you accidentally take a dip in Irwin's pond or something?"

That remark earned a scorned look from the wounded male. Zini slunk into the water in an attempt to hide from his burning stare. The male then returned his focus to the two alphas, his expression softening to that of desperation.

"Aladar, Neera, you must get the herd to evacuate this area now!"

The two herd leaders looked at each other for a moment in confusion before turning back to Nero. While Neera remained silent, her mate was the first to speak up.

"What are you talking about Nero?" he told him, half-annoyed and half-concerned. After all, how could anyone in the valley be in such danger. From the tour that Hazel gave of the park not too long ago, this place was deemed the safest to live in, even though there were carnivores. They were contained though and were kept under high security courtesy of the humans.

"We're all in danger here!" he stomped his left hoof, causing some dust on a dirt patch to fly up in a small cloud. "The Carnotaur from within the valley, it...HE has escaped!"

Everyone around the lake burst into gasps and screams. The herd that had gathered there began to fret about the terrible news. A number of them, especially the _Struthiomimus_ in the area, ran around in circles or shifted in their positions nervously. Some let out furious roars meant for the one who had told them what had happened.

Martha looked over at the ones within the water. The children were all quaking in fear while the lemurs took to reaching the shore to join her and the elderly women she was with. Their fur dripped with water as they made their way over to Baylene's great form to take shelter at her body size. Sensing that things were about to get worse, the mammoth outstretched her trunk out to the younglings and did a "pull-in gesture". The children got the gist of it and quickly swam for the shore. Once they arrived, they stayed close to Martha for protection. Their scales, or skin for the little Mikiya, dripped with water onto the grass like little streams.

"That's impossible!" Neera blurted out, not wanting to believe a word Nero said. "There was no way that predator could have broken out on his own! The humans made sure of that with those walls they made, along with their 'security'!"

Aladar inhaled and eyed Nero with suspicion. Judging from the fresh wounds, the labored breathing, and the shifting gazes he made to the herd and back at the alphas, he knew he was hiding something. Wanting to know the full truth, he made his way over to the herbivore and stood mere inches from him; his watchful gaze peering into the wounded rival's soul.

"Nero, I can sense that you're not telling us something. Hazel and her kind here had things under control and reassured everyone that there was nothing to be worried about. They even took us in and cared for us after all that we had been through. So don't you dare try to antagonize the humans because I can see through it. Now reveal to everyone…" he reared his back to make himself look more in command. His posture intimidated Nero, though he did his best not to show that fear. "How did Diablo escape?"

The green herbivore opened his mouth in an attempt to reply, only to fall silent. His lips trembled at the thought of revealing the full truth. He had already created enough trouble, and saying what had really happened would only put him in deeper water. He wanted to escape, but with everyone watching, there was no way he could do that. There was only one thing to do…

"It was me," he let out a rough sigh. "I did it. I helped him escape."

The screams and gasps returned. The part of the herd that was gathered around the lake became even more active in a frightful frenzy. In fact, the others in the valley gathered around to see what was happening, only to find out the hard way when they learned what was going on. Furious dinosaurs, and even some of the lemurs that had the courage to be within the giants' presence, shot the newfound traitor accusations for his crime.

"You traitor!" a _Pachyrhinosaurus_ accused from one side of the shore.

"Imbecile! You sold our lives to the enemy!? What's worse is you're leading him straight towards us!" Lethe, who had arrived in time to check up on her daughter and took her place next to the elders, shrieked at the ornithopod.

"You fool! You're no better than the Carnotaur himself!" a _Styracosaurus_ spat.

Nero, now getting bombarded by the multitude of accusations, backed away in complete guilt. He never thought he could be faced with this much pressure from a large group of beings. Every insult shot at him was like a knife to his psyche. His intentions to release Diablo were logical, at least to him, but because of what he was going through now, it was also a stupid mistake.

Not only that, but this much pressure he was receiving felt...nostalgic in a weird way. Nero thought about the last time something like this happened, but when he did, he realized it was not directed at him. Instead, it was directed at the human known as Hazel. When she had revealed of her knowledge of the Fireball, the whole herd and her friends were turned against her. Was this what it felt like? Having the whole world hate you for an innocent mistake, although his was not as innocent?

An odd feeling pierced the very core of Nero's soul. He could not explain it, but it felt like something dug through his heart like a wound. He had not felt this sort of thing for a long time. For most of his life, he trained himself to be strong against any oncoming obstructions, whether they be physical or emotional. This time, his strength gave way. The accusations he was receiving was taking a toll on his psyche. For the first time in years, he felt an emotion that he never thought would come back to haunt him. He felt...hurt.

The herd leader looked upon him in anger and shame. Not only had he released the Carnotaur to fulfill his own selfish desires, but he had also led the predator to this part of the valley, with everyone in it! Aladar, now at the point where his rage could no longer be kept, bellowed at him at the top of his voice. "Nero how could you do this to us!? We took you in, we sheltered you from danger, we looked after you even though you didn't need it! You deliberately put the safety of everyone in this valley in jeopardy!"

"Diablo tricked me!" Nero defended, now roaring back at the leader. "He told me that he would help me in becoming leader of the herd if I helped him escape! And he would do so by-"

His sentence was cut off by a sharp accusation from the alpha male. "By killing me and those you hated? Just so that you could get what you wanted?"

Aladar's rage was now being let out. His inner emotions were now giving way. The _Iguanodon's_ face was now flooding with fury at the one who had sold them out to a vicious predator. "Wanting to take me out to become leader is one thing. But selling out the safety of everyone to that monster is just pure evil! You betrayed us Nero! You've sunk even lower than I thought…"

He retreated a little from the new traitor then looked upon the herd. Their accusations quieted down at the sight of his steely gaze. "A crime such as this deserves nothing more than banishment from the herd."

Nero looked down in shame. His selfish desire had unwittingly costed the safety of everyone in the valley. He only wanted to get back at Aladar and Hazel for always getting in his way. But in proceeding to that goal, he had casted a death sentence onto everyone. His eyes turned away from the leader, not wanting to meet his cold gaze.

Aladar was about to add on to the retort when suddenly, a roar was heard from somewhere towards the main part of the park. The herd and everyone else turned to that direction at that very sound. To most of them, they knew what that sound was. It was a roar of victory, but not of the good kind. The bellow was enough to shatter even the hearing of anyone close by. It sounded like an animal trapped in a rage. It was deep, guttural, and sent shivers down everyone's spine. They knew what this sound was, and who it belonged to. It belonged to that of a _Carnotaurus_.

The herd leader shifted his gaze back to the forest colored one. His emerald eyes that were once filled with rage were now filled with resolve. "But now's not the time for that. If nothing is done now, then there won't be a herd to be banished from."

Nero's eyes widened in complete surprise and perked his head up. He was being let go? Just like that? Then again, it was because of the situation they were in now. The burly one watched the leader turn towards his mate and give her orders pertaining to what was coming.

Neera, who was just as surprised as everyone for witnessing her mate spare Nero, remained quiet to hear what he had to say.

"Neera, get the elders and all of the younglings away from here. I'll stay with the others to fight off that predator," he said without looking at her.

The fuschia _Iguanodon_ rushed up to him and gave a worried look. "But Aladar, your wounds haven't fully healed!"

He sighed and stared at her reassuringly. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Just get them to safety."

As much as she wanted to protest and stay with her love, Neera had to agree with him. The weak and the young would need a leader to bring them to safety. She knew what his plan was and she too was worried about the safety of everyone. She nodded in resolve then watched her mate turn to the entire herd.

"Everyone!" he proclaimed. "For those of you who can fight, stay with me! I want all the children and the old to follow Neera away from here!"

On cue, Neera made her way over to the herd and began to call over the elders and the children. They all followed her order without question and gathered at another part of the lake shore, where she could easily keep track of them. All of the younglings, most of the fraction being _Iguanodons_ , cowered next to the older members of the herd. All of them waited as the rest of the group clustered into that area.

As for the rest of the herd, they milled about and packed together like they did the last time. They stood their ground and awaited Aladar's next orders. Although they were shifting in their positions and shivering nervously on the upcoming battle. A few of them wanted to just run and be with the group that was leaving. There were even a number that clamored amongst themselves, mostly on Nero betraying them to a carnivore like Diablo. They growled at him and shot him hateful glares.

The green _Iguanodon_ , feeling that he had caused enough trouble, wanted to leave the area too. But not with Neera's part of the herd. The forest-green one made his way towards a nearby forest edge so that he could avoid the carnage he had caused. The bloody trail he left created a gigantic stain in the pristine plains of Prehistoric Park.

Aladar noticed this. He never liked Nero, but he could not help but feel pity for the dinosaur. He could not help it, but he somehow felt that he wanted to apologize. However, now was not the time for that, as he needed to help gather the strong and fit in the herd to fight off the incoming natural predator.

Aladar made his way to his older companions nearby. The elders took on a face of determination and nodded to him in understanding. The leader did not need to tell them what to do, but the same could not be said for the mammals on the sauropod's back. Zini was jumping in excitement while Aya was trying to subdue him with her arms. Plio held on to her daughter in an attempt to calm her fear, her tears streaming from her eyes. The only one who put on a brave face was Yar.

"Guys," he directed to the prehistoric primates. "Gather the rest of the clan and go with Neera. I don't want you here when Diablo arrives."

The yellow lemur's mouth fell agape. "Aw come on! At least let me help you out! I can take him on!"

Aladar shook his head in disagreement. "Sorry Zini, but it's too dangerous. Besides, this valley is going to turn into a war ground if things get out of hand."

Plio, although very worried about her adopted son's safety along with the rest of the herd, gave him a face of understanding. She placed her hand on her brother's shoulder and gestured him, along with everyone else, to make their way towards the gather group of elders and younglings a few feet away from the left shore of the lake.

"Don't worry Aladar, we'll get everyone out."

The blue-green _Iguanodon_ gave her a small smile. He knew the brown and white lemur would get things done. After watching his family and the elders retreat, he then turned his attention to the mammoth near him. Specifically, he paid attention to the children that hid behind the megafauna's leg. The kids peered out from behind the mammoth's great girth and stared at the herd leader, who looked upon them with a bit of strictness.

"Kids, I want you to go with the others."

The younglings all nodded in agreement to that. Well...except for Talin and Mikiya. They were the only ones that showed disappointment for not being able to attend in the fight. Their frowns were apparent on their faces; in fact, the little elephant calf gave him the puppy dog eyes. Aladar saw right through that ruse and ignored it. However, his eldest son was much more...straightforward.

"No way Dad!" he shook his head. "I'm staying to help you out!"

"No Talin, you go and be with your mother. I don't want you being involved in something like this," he strictly told him.

"But I want to help you! The story of you and mom and the herd fending off a Carnotaur involved the other younglings helping out!" the little blue-green child pleaded. "So I should help out too!"

His father shot him a parental scolding look. The thought of his own son risking his life to help the herd was noble, but not at this time. He was too young and had his whole life ahead of him. Plus, he could not bear the thought of his own flesh and blood dying at the hands of one of his enemies.

"That was a different situation!" he argued. He then let out a sigh then gestured the children over to Neera nearby. "Look, this is no time to be arguing. The longer we stay like this, the closer Diablo will arrive in the valley. I want you to be with your mother and help protect the others. Can you do that for me?"

A moment passed and Talin gave him a depressing nod. He sighed and gestured his friends and sisters to move to where the alpha female was. Soon, they joined the ranks of the other younglings and elders. However, only one stayed behind, and it wasn't one of the children. Aladar looked upon the megafauna with a questioning look, and got one of resolve in response.

"Aladar, that monster threatens the safety of my Sisterhood and all in this valley. Please, it would be an honor if you would allow me to fight by your side," she asked him with every ounce of dignity.

Aladar may have only just met her days ago, but he could see from that very first time they met that she was a reliable friend. The herd leader replied to her answer by shooting her a smile before heading over to the brave ones that will fight. His gait was quick, but it was still at a good walking pace that Martha could keep up with. To the other herd members that witnessed the new ally, they could not believe such a massive and strange creature would want to fight by them. However, they felt that her assistance could turn the tides on the battle.

"Thanks Martha. We're going to need all the help we can get," Aladar said, taking his place at the front of the troops. The mammoth took her place next to him, ready to fight as well.

Things were going well from then on. Aladar stood at the front, like a true warrior. Within himself, he felt courage, pride, and determination all mixed up into a ball. The adrenaline was already coursing through his body like mad rivers. Although he felt a tinge of fear, he knew that as long as the herd was together, they would succeed. And with the help of a massive mammal like Martha, things could not go wrong.

"Alright everyone, this is just like last time!" he hollered over the clamoring of the herd. "Remember, stand together! It's the only way to prevent him from getting us one by one!"

The resolve in the herd intensified. Their fearless leader, though still wounded from his previous battles, was determined to see the light of tomorrow. They had seen this before, back when they were backed into a corner a year ago. He had fearlessly stood his ground and fought off the _Carnotaurus_. Now, he was about to do it again. The feeling they were sensing now was none other than his courage.

Well, that beautiful moment was interrupted by a couple of screams off to their right. They looked over and were horrified to see a large, squat reptilian lumbering his way over to their leader. The others screamed and backed away, except for the megafauna and the head ornithischian. Those two were the only ones that did not perceive this intruder as a threat, because they knew him very well. This creature had dark, sharpened scales, a long body with small legs, and an elongated head with a jaw that had small teeth jutting out. The intruder was none other than Irwin the _Deinosuchus_.

The ruckus had also attracted the departing group that Neera was leading. They turned to see that large reptile and were surprised to see it speaking to him. Now they were confused as to whether this one was a threat or an ally if their alpha male was not frightened by his appearance. Only the elders, the lemurs, Neera, Talin, Alden, and their friends were the only ones that showed no fear, although they were just as puzzled as everyone else.

"Finally!" he gasped when he settled down before the leader of the Valley herd. "Took me a while to find you mate!"

"Irwin?" Aladar cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What are you doing here? And how did you get here?"

"Oh it was easy mate!" he used his head to gesture over behind him to a particular part of the valley. The dinosaurs looked over there and noticed the river that ran near that part of the sector they were at. It was just in front of that part of the forest and ran as long as the park itself. "I took the water ways."

"But what about that collar that the humans put on you?" Martha added. "How did you manage to bypass that wall?"

"Believe me Martha," the prehistoric crocodilian chuckled. "Those shocks hurt like hell, but after making my way through, they turned into tickles."

"Irwin, have you seen Hazel and Flia anywhere?" Aladar asked him with earnest.

The crocodile looked at him and frowned. "I saw your flyer friend in the park. She was following the mess Diablo was causing. Most likely tracking him down. As for that little ankle-biter, I haven't seen her anywhere..."

Aladar shuddered at that thought. Hazel not being with Flia was definitely ill news. She could be anywhere now, either trying to stop the Carnotaur from approaching or trying to rally the other keepers to stop him. Hazel not being with the herd and not being seen with the other humans made him worry even more.

"Now as to why I'm here…" Irwin's reptilian eyes bore a sign of worry. "I came here as quickly as I could on these stubby little legs. You guys well aware of what's going down now?"

Aladar answered him with a worried sigh. "Diablo's escaped and is now coming this way. I don't know what kind of trouble he's causing now, but we're well prepared for his arrival. We faced this kind of situation before...and we can do it again."

"Well I'm glad to see you guys are pretty enthusiastic about this," Irwin sarcastically remarked. "But you guys have bigger problems to deal with at the moment…"

His response earned him puzzled looks from Aladar and Martha. What kind of problem could be bigger than facing that blasted _Carnotaurus_? Both creatures wanted to know what this crocodile knew, but whatever it was, they felt in their guts that it could not be good.

"What is it Irwin? What's going on?" the blue-green _Iguanodon_ questioned.

Irwin was about to respond when a series of squawks were heard from the direction of the nearest border. Everyone turned towards that direction and noticed a small shape approaching them. This creature was coming at a very high speed, matching that of the _Velociraptors_ they encountered in their travels.

But the creature that was coming was no raptor. It was bipedal, with mostly yellow feathers and a black stripe going down on each side from his head to his body. Three stray white feathers stuck up on his head like little spikes. His arms were actually small, near discreet wings and his beak looked like it was powerful enough to crush a skull. To those that have encountered this park nuisance in the past, they knew him as Espantos. However, he was normally cheerful. Seeing him completely terrified was something new.

"RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!" he screamed and made his way towards the herd.

The behemoths quickly parted a pathway for the oncoming bird. They did not know what he meant and a number of them did not want to get run down by him. Others really had no intention to get involved with the strange two-legged. The questionable bird disappeared as fast as he reappeared, making his way around the lake shore and over to the rest of the valley.

"What's up with Espantos?" Aladar blurted out, wanting to know what had frightened the avian so much.

Irwin merely shook his great head at that. He may have been in the park for a long time, but he had never seen that Terror Bird so frightened before. "Nothing scares that bloke...this is really not good at all."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, there's trouble in the park mate. Diablo busting out is not only getting the humans into a frenzy, but also everyone else."

"Oh no…" the mammoth gasped. Everyone looked at her only to see the faintest shivers underneath her thick layer of hair. Martha was panting and was staring at the ground for some reason.

 _Thump._ The vibration went passed her feet in a split second.

 _Thump, thump._ This time, two came in at a faster rate.

 _Thump, thump, thump._ Now they were getting faster and more out of sync until there were so many of them at one time.

None who were in the valley knew this, but elephants, and mammoths like Martha, had keener senses than other animals. Specifically, their hearing was outstanding and so was their smell. Pachyderms could also detect the faintest tremors in the earth via their feet. If a vibration was felt, such as a tremor, the elephants would be one of the first to know about it. They could even escape an earthquake before it hit if they had the chance.

But what Martha was feeling was nothing like that. Those around her were questioning as to why she was so scared all of a sudden. Moments ago, she was determined to fight off Diablo. Now, it was as if all of that courage faded away.

"What's wrong Martha?" Irwin rumbled.

"Something...something big is coming. And it is closing in on us...fast!" she cried out.

Aladar walked over to her, leaving his position at the front of the line. "Martha tell us! What's coming? Is it Diablo?"

She shook her head. "No...it is not him. It's something bigger."

"Bigger?" the _Deinosuchus_ cocked an eye ridge at her. "Oh no, Sheila! Don't tell me that's what I think it is!"

Martha let out a terrified groan in response. This sort of sound was typical of elephants when they are communicating with each other. Their sounds can let others know how they are feeling or used for other situations. In this case, she is letting them know that danger was coming. This puzzled the dinosaurs, but Irwin got the gist of it easily.

"It is not a single entity. I can detect vibrations in the ground with my feet. It is how we know our surroundings when covering great distances, communicating with Sisters miles away or detecting anything that is coming. But this...it is not one big creature...it is many…"

"Oh crikey…" Irwin gasped in a most primeval hiss. "They're here! Aladar, get the herd out of the way!"

Just then, the vibrations became even stronger and out of control. So uncontrollable that it felt like a little tremor was happening within the valley. The herd, and even Martha herself, lost balance at the sudden shakes in the ground. All of them attempted to remain on their feet, whether it was by the earth shake or the weak knees from the incoming strike. All of the prehistoric creatures shifted in their positions to try to regain balance.

Martha then screamed at the top of her lungs. Her cry was mixed with that of a shrieking elephant, making the warning that much more terrifying.

"EVERYBODY SCATTER!"

Both factions of the herd could not make out what she meant by that. But they did not need to think about that for long. Coming over the crest of the hill ahead of them was a hoard of animals. They came towards them in a frightful craze. The end of the crowd was not definite, but it was very large.

The multitude of the hoard included the _Borealosaurus_ flock, the _Ornithomimus_ flock, two _Triceratops_ , one burly _Elasmotherium,_ the _Therizinosaurus_ tribe, the elephant herd, and the _Plateosaurus_ troop. Staying barely ahead of being trampled underfoot were the Saber-Cats, each with a cub in their jaws and eager to get away from the stampede. The incoming group may be smaller, but the sheer size of the sauropods and the force the others were coming in with were enough to ruin the unity.

The whole herd scattered from the incoming stampede. Everyone ran about all over the place in a craze. The lake shore may have stopped the incoming Residents from proceeding any further, but that resulted in them running about the area where the herd was.

The gigantic sauropods ran about in circles around that part of the valley. Each turn they made caused their tails to follow them. The sharp turns resulted in their tails to end in a whip-crack. Those that were unfortunate enough to be in their way were swiped by the side of the freestanding body appendage. Their feet were also a hazard as well; the smaller dinosaurs frantically avoided being in the way of the giants so as to avoid being crushed by their weight.

The elephants, _Triceratops,_ and _Elasmotherium_ did the same too. Only they were armed with sharp horns and/or tusks to make up for the lack of sheer size compared to the other bigger Residents. The adults that were about their size put maximum effort into avoiding their protruding weapons, especially after they witnessed a fully adult _Iguanodon_ get batted aside effortlessly courtesy of the male Ice Age rhino's 7-ft horn. Getting stabbed by them in the heart was one of the last things they wanted to go through.

Those that were near the _Therizinosaurus_ were having a tough time. Being around complete strangers, the feathered potbellied behemoths saw everything as a potential hazard. Continuously, whenever one of the Residents got too near, they would swipe their large claws at them. A number of them already obtained large gashes on their ribs. Bloody dripping from the new wounds, staining the fertile grass.

The other Residents caused just as much trouble too. The _Plateosaurus_ and _Ornithomimus_ sprinted in all directions, frightened out of their wits. In their confused state, they would accidentally kick the younglings away, bruising them. Or they would run into other Residents or herd members in a panic, getting stunned or hurt in the process.

Sabrina and César were able to find and scale a large acacia tree, luckily high enough to avoid being stepped on by the much larger Residents. The two _Smilodons_ both carried the young Saber-Cubs Tai and Sable safely by the nape of their necks to the safety of their refuge's branches, which they set down when they were out of immediate danger; panting and sucking in air from their physical exertion. Both adult Pleistocene hunters were exhausted from sprinting a majority of their travel there. Their _Smilodon_ physique was too muscled and stocky, meant to take down large mega-fauna, not long distance running. However, with the threat of being squashed in the panicked frenzy of their neighbor's giant footsteps, they had more than enough motivation to keep them ahead of the stampede.

Everyone screamed or let out bellows. Residents and herd individuals accidentally colliding into each other, loved ones getting separated, the children in the herd doing their best to avoid getting stomped or bumping into the more robust adults, and injuries being inflicted by complete accident. That part of the valley at this moment could be described by one word: chaos.

Those that managed to avoid the frenzy could only watch as the disorder continued. Aladar and Martha observed in complete shock at what was happening. Not once in their lives had something like this happened to them. It was also at this moment that Irwin tried to warn them of this. The crocodile, though cumbersome on land, was also quick on his feet for short periods of time. At the last minute, he managed to sprint out of the way of the incoming stampede and make his way back around the herd and getting into the lake for safety.

None of them knew this, but all this chaos happened within the last couple of minutes. But to them, it felt like longer.

"Oh no...Mikiya!" Martha screamed and then dove into the fray, determined to find her adopted niece before it was too late.

"Martha wait!" Aladar called for her.

Before he could get in to stop the mammoth from causing trouble for the herd in her own worried craze, he was stopped by a deep chuckle. His whole body froze at the sound of that laugh. He slowly turned around and gasped in horror at the form standing a few feet from him.

The creature was large, slightly taller than that of Martha or anyone else. His thick red hide was dotted with small horns and a cream underbelly adorned his ventral side. Two larger horns jutted out from above his eyes, creating a menacing appearance. His jaws were open, dripping with saliva and revealing dagger-like teeth.

Aladar knew this creature very well. He encountered him and another of his kind last year a couple of times. This same creature backed the whole herd into a corner and was defeated by him, Neera, Flia, and Hazel. He also knew he was the same one he saw days ago when Hazel showed him around the park. There was no mistaking it...he came back like a persistent disease, this time with a vengeance.

"Aladar, I finally found you," he rumbled with laughter and took a step forward. The ground shook under his weight, making Aladar back up in fear. "You and I have something to... Discuss…"

Diablo had arrived.


	22. Devil's Advocate: A Little Bit of Panic

_Darksage95: Hey guys, Darksage and Marc here. Sorry about the huge wait. A bunch of things came our way. But we haven't forgotten about our story and we're doing our best to get new chapters up. Thanks for your patience!_

 _By the way, this chapter was written by Marc-Ello-Re-Yes. We are currently working on Chapter 23 so stay tuned! …Man I hope Diablo hasn't learned how to break the 4th wall yet. He'd kill us!_

 _Marc: Don't worry Sage. I don't think Diablo's that smart. He'd need to have some sort of training from a master 4th wall breaker. Like Espantos, but that's if he's stupid enough to fall for his requests._

 _Darksage95: Or Deadpool. But then again, he'd probably shoot him on the spot._

 _Marc: Anyway, as we have said before, **we don't own Prehistoric Park or Disney's Dinosaur. Only the characters we created.**_

 _Darksage95: Thank you guys so much and enjoy the chapter!_

 _1 hour before Diablo's confrontation_ …

Diablo watched as the cowardly green leaf-sucker galloped away, eager to flee from his demise at his powerful jaws. The horned-carnivore managed to chomp at Nero's form several times before the herbivore "got away from him". In reality, Diablo let him go. Even though he wanted to slaughter the green flesh-bag, he had no idea where the rest of the herd was located in the park. So he deployed a tactic he had used before in the past: the "Catch, Release, and Track" method.

This purpose of this tactic was to injure potential prey items enough to cause bleeding and scare them off. The panicked prey would run, leaving a blood trail to follow at his leisure. With most herbivores being more inclined to group together, Nero would seek refuge in the Herd; which was also Diablo's current destination. The blood trail from the moronic green herbivore would lead him straight towards that blue wretch's peons. Plus, seeing his savagery on Nero's body would lower the morale amongst Aladar's Herd. It worked out well last time when the previous leader's second-in-command was made into an invalid by his mate—

Diablo clenched his eyes to stem the tears of his sudden bout of sorrow from recalling the past. Now was not the time for tears. Opening his eyes, he glared into the direction of where the Herd would be. He will get his vengeance against that wretched _Iguanodon_ and his followers for making him lose his mate while they live blissfully and stupidly unaware of the pain he felt.

With vengeance on his mind, Diablo roared into the air one last time before rushing off into Prehistoric Park. If he wanted to make his righteous fury realized, then he had a lot of work to do.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later at Triceratops Creek…_

The day was pretty routine for the two ceratopsian Residents of _Triceratops_ Creek; which suited them just fine. Theo and Ellie were meandering near the river, wading in the cool waters in the shade of an overhanging tree. Ellie was grateful for the peacefulness, as she was soaking in the sun's rays. Theo was also relaxed and happier than before; it helped that he didn't need to nurse any more bruises from his "forwardness" towards Ellie. The young male thanked the Maker that Granny Eema set his head on straight. As the young pair enjoyed their sunbathing, they were woken up by something in the distance.

 **RRRROOOOAAAAAARRRRR!**

"What the hell was that?!" Ellie jumped in surprise at the sudden roar from the distance. Theo, although startled as well, was put at ease when he recognized the tone and pitch of the primal roar.

"Sounds like that carnivore that Hazel picked up from months back." Theo commented as he settled back in his more relaxed position. "He's probably being pissy again and trying to break out of his enclosure."

"Are you sure he can't get out?" Ellie turned toward the young male, "What if he escaped like that other carnivore you told me about. 'Matilda', right?"

Theo shifted closer to Ellie to put her at ease. Before, he would have been over the moon at comforting his love interest, but his instincts as a friend overrode any notion of love at the moment.

"Don't worry Ellie. That was some time ago, and before the Park put up those fancy 'Buzzy-things' on the fences." At Theo's reassurance, Ellie briefly looked down at her electrical bangle adorning her foreleg.

"Why did the humans put on these things on us? One time, I accidently broke part of the fence in our enclosure, and the thing shot lightning up my leg! It really hurt!"

"Well humans are skittish like that," Theo shrugged indifferently. "Hazel told me that since they can't understand us, they put these things on us as reassurance for them or something like that."

"Humans can't understand us?" The fact that their caretakers were the only species incapable of understanding how other species spoke mystified her.

"Unless they have that doohickey in their ears or take the equivalent of a lightning bolt to their brains, then nope."

Ellie could only shake her shake. "Humans are weird…"

Both _Triceratopses_ relaxed again and were enjoying each other's company. However, during their basking in the sun, they felt slight trembles in the earth that grew louder with every thud. Both Ellie and Theo were startled by the tremors' tempo growing faster and louder. It felt familiar to the young pair. Almost like—.

 **CRASH!**

Smashing through their enclosure's fence was a red and grey, horned carnivore. The wood fragments from the fence bounced off of the predator's lightly armor studded scales that dotted his back. His monstrous red eyes were locked on the two ceratopsians, who were too shocked at the carnivore's sudden appearance, and revealed a toothy smile, showing his dagger-sized teeth. The _Carnotaurus_ released a terrifying roar that shook the young pair to the bone as he stalked closer and closer to them.

With a cry, the two _Triceratopses_ scrambled out of the water and onto dry land to gain some distance away from their unexpected carnivorous "guest". The red-scaled predator strode after them to an open clearing near their enclosure's door. Due to Theo being a larger male, he stood firm in his stance with his horns lowered and ready to charge at the meat-eater. Ellie on the other hand, was trying to find a way to get out of their enclosure to avoid becoming a meal. She attempted to break down a section of the fence to make a hole for their escape but unfortunately, the enclosure's Perimeter Barrier was still online and released its electrical payload on the female _Triceratops._

 ***BBBBBZZZZZZTTTTT!***

"AAHHH!" Ellie yelped at the sudden jolt of electricity that coursed through her body.

"Ellie, are you okay?" Theo questioned over his shoulder, not daring to turn away from the threat in front of him.

"I'm fine, it's just these stupid collars going off! We can't bust out of here fast enough without getting shocked!"

"Fantastic…" Theo muttered under his breath. They were stuck between an electrical fence that will hinder them from escaping, and a large and very powerful carnivore with rows of teeth and a bad attitude. A metaphorical "Rock and a Hard Place" that could end up with them being eaten by a demonic looking predator. Theo did NOT like this situation. "Just keep trying to find a way out Ellie, I'll try to buy us some time."

Ellie was worried for her companion's safety, but agreed to search for their escape. While she searched the fence for a chink in the enclosure's security, Theo was left to his thoughts as he faced the carnivorous Resident.

Despite his large size, the predator was built stockier than the T-Rexes from his time AND was armored if the studs and horns on his back and skull was any indication. Theo grunted and barked at the carnivore, standing tall and waving his horns menacingly as he could. It was times like these that he regretted not reaching his adulthood before Nigel rescued him. Sure he had lived in safety for the past few years under the humans' care, but he had no practical experience when facing down a predator; therefore, was scared for his life as the _Carnotaurus_ didn't even flinch at his threat display. But with his and Ellie's lives on the line, Theo supposed he could make it up as he goes along.

Theo grunted as he performed a mock-charge to get the carnivore to back off, which Diablo jumped back accordingly until he pressed forward again with a roar to make the male _Triceratops_ back away. It was one of the techniques he remembered from his dad, in which if you faked out a carnivore into attacking, they might open themselves up for a counter attack. However, Diablo was experienced enough to time and avoid Theo's threatening lunges.

The young male tried again to mock-charge, but overextended himself too far. Diablo chose this time to strike. Diablo use his horned head to clock the side of Theo's head, making him miss his strike and stumble past him slightly. The _Carnotaurus_ then lunged and his teeth latched onto the ceratopsian's back like a pit-bull, making Theo cry out in pain as he attempted to buck him off of him.

"THEO!" Ellie cried out in concern. She heard the struggle between them and was terrified that her friend was in the jaws of the carnivore. The female ceratopsian charged to her friend's rescue with her horns at the ready. Just as she was about to gore into Diablo's side, he let go of his vice on Theo and expertly dodged the swipe of her sharp horns. Ellie helped Theo onto his feet as both parties gained distance for a standoff again.

"How many times are you going to get you tail handed to you in a fight?" Ellie joked, despite the dire situation they were in. Theo just chuckled in response.

"As many times as it takes until you become my girlfriend." He groaned as he fought past the sting of his wounds. Ellie would have blushed at the charming response if they were faced with their possible deaths. Diablo's growls were more than enough to put both young _Triceratopses_ on alert.

As they continued their feverish standoff, the Park employees chose just now to drive up towards _Triceratops Creek's_ enclosure gate. All of the keepers were gathering at the gate, armed with their electrical shotguns to subdue the escaped carnivore. One of the keepers in charge of the group of humans started shouting orders.

"Okay everyone, Marcus gave us the green light for a full charge on the guns. Get into position and try to get an angle on Diablo!"

Diablo noticed their mustering and proceed to shift to his right slightly. The fearful pair emulated the carnivore to prevent themselves from getting attacked by being flanked. A common tactic in "predator and prey" standoffs, but the conniving predator had something else in mind.

He proceeded to move to his right until the _Triceratops_ pair were positioned directly in front of their enclosure's door. Once they were in place, Diablo released a deep, threatening growl as he slowly inched towards them; Theo and Ellie fearfully backing away in kind.

The keepers now couldn't get a bead on the demonic carnivore due to Ellie and Theo's bodies in the way of their sights. The one in charge ordered one of the keepers to unlock the gate and position themselves inside the enclosure, thinking that the _Carnotaurus_ was too focused on trying to make Theo and Ellie into a meal than the likes of them. This was, however, the EXACT opportunity Diablo was waiting for and hinged on his revenge scheme. He just had to time it just right.

While Diablo's mock hunting and snarls were putting the two _Triceratops_ on edge, he listened and watched as one human moved toward the enclosure's lock. Shifting into a predatory stance, with is head low to the ground and his razor sharp teeth glistening into a sneer, his legs tensed and his entire body was like a taut spring waiting to be released. The tone of his growl was growing in volume, further panicking Theo and Ellie. Just the park employee unlocked the padlock of the gate, which Diablo's keen ears heard the metal lock's resounding "click"; the Carnotaur sprung his plan into action.

" **GGGRRR-RRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!** " With an ear-shattering roar, Diablo charged towards the two horned herbivores.

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Ellie shrieked at Theo as she was scrambling back. Theo looked towards his frightened friend, fear evident on his face as well.

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?!" Theo screamed back.

"AWAY FROM HERE!"

With self-preservation on their minds, Theo and Ellie cried out and were running in the only direction where they might find safety: directly towards their slightly ajar gate. With escape being on the forefront of their minds, Theo and Ellie charged at the wooden gate with all of the power they could manage. For 4 and 6-ton ceratopsians armed with a battering-ram crested horned skull, they had more than enough strength to force open an unlatched door. The young ceratopsians fought through the electrical current running through their bodies, but their adrenaline from their fear numbed the pain for them.

The enclosure's gate exploded outwards from the force of the fearful herbivores. Luckily, the keepers were fast enough to get out of the way from the violent opening of the enclosure, but were peppered with wood fragments that lodged painfully into their skin. With their momentum built up, they crashed through any obstacles in their way. Their wooden gate, the electrical discharges from their collars, and unfortunately, most of the jeeps that were crowded near the gate. Theo and Ellie plowed through and overturned the flimsy metal of the cars to get away from the threat to their lives. The only upside for them was that their collars sputtered out when they detected that they were out of range of the Perimeter Barrier field's influence.

Diablo was sprinting after the fleeing duo, pleased that this phase of his plan had gone off without a hitch. He made sure to ram into some of the jeeps for good measure; it would do him no good if the humans could keep up with his chase. Now with two panicky charging dinosaurs, Diablo snapped and nipped at their sides, scaring them in the opposite direction of him and towards the direction he wanted to go. He still had a lot of work to do though. These two ceratopsians are not nearly enough for his schemes. Fortunately for Diablo, he had a few stops he wanted to make along the way to further "enhance" his unwilling entourage.

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 _Later at Ornithomimus Pond…._

Ornith was feeling a bit peculiar at the moment. What should have been time for incubating the new batch of eggs with her Flock and socializing with the various mothers of the group, was replaced with a sense of unease and flightiness; a need to run as fast as she could. Several members of her Flock have voiced their concern, but Ornith convinced them that it was nothing.

She was currently on a small hill that overlooked her Flock's territory, watching her followers stride to certain areas, drink from their pond, or contently wade in the cool waters. Keeper Bob had just left, leaving Ornith and her group some duck-feed strewn around the grass. The _Ornithomimus_ there were pecking away at the ground to get their fill of food. Despite the tranquility of her surroundings, Ornith couldn't help but feel anxious for some reason. The leader of the _Ornithomimus_ was brought out of her thoughts from one of her subordinates.

"Leader-Ornith? Are you well?" The male follower, Axel if she could recall correctly, asked.

"Yes Follower-Axel. My condition is adequate." Ornith turned toward younger male.

Axel was part of her first clutch of eggs she laid here after Nigel rescued her Flock. She named him "Axel" after overhearing a human brag about how that part of a car made his human vehicle travel faster speeds. It suited her hatchling perfectly since he was the fastest of her clutch. He was now considered a young adult. Old enough to not need her constant doting, but still too young to choose a mate for himself; he would be of age in a few years. Putting on a reassuring smile, Ornith tried to alleviate her son's concern.

"I am just feeling out of sorts at the moment. It is nothing I assure you." She chirped in a tone an experienced known only to mothers when speaking to their children. "It is probably just nerves from being cooped up in one territory for so long."

Axel chuckled as he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I hear ya Leader-Ornith. Me and my friends are itching to stretch our legs and really open up to see how fast we really are."

Ornith just rolled her eyes at her son's way of speaking. She attributed Axel's, and all of Prehistoric Park's current youth's, verbal quirks from spending too much time with their human caretakers. They were bound to pick up their present day lingo. She just shook her head as she walked off towards their enclosure's pond, her son following suit as he continued talking.

"Leader-Ornith, you and the older generation had wide open spaces to run as much as you liked, right? Back in the Homeland?" Axel sighed dreamily, "Having so much room to race everywhere sounds like so much fun!"

"Back in the Homeland, we ran because we had to evade predators. We did not run for amusement. If you were not fast enough and in top form, you became a predator's meal." Ornith dully informed her hatchling as they stopped near their pond, the water source being filled with more of her followers dunking their heads into the reeds to forage for food. "The humans gave us an opportunity to live peacefully without the need to runaway from carnivores. So if we need to sacrifice some running space, then it is well worth the price."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Still wish we had the space though. Maybe I can ask that Hazel girl when she comes back!"

Before Ornith could respond to Axel, a portion of their enclosure erupted, making the lightweight dinosaur Residents in the enclosure snap to attention. The two _Triceratops_ youths, Theo and Ellie if Ornith remembered, were charging through their enclosure screaming in fear at the top of their lungs. Before Ornith could comprehend the situation, a bloodthirsty roar shook every _Ornithomimus_ to their cores. While the Leader of the Flock did not recognize what species the roar came from, the familiarity of it being similar to a _Tyrannosaurus's_ call made it abundantly clear to Ornith that it was NOT friendly.

Quickly taking charge of the situation, Ornith began alerting her followers. "PREDATOR! EVADE! EVADE! EVADE!"

Her shrieks spurred the Bird-mimic dinosaurs into action as they all scrambled around their enclosure as fast as they could in an almost chaotic manner and crying out in terror. Just in time too, because stomping through their enclosure was the Park's newest bloodthirsty monster, Diablo. Ornith liked to be well informed of all the potential predators Prehistoric Park had rescued, so she was familiar of the _Carnotaurus_ and his hostile actions if the rumors were true. He was still chasing after Theo and Ellie, but now he was roaring at any _Ornithomimus_ that he came across, which scared them in the direction of the two ceratopsians traveling to the opposite side of the enclosure, which was also smashed to pieces in their attempt to flee their pursuer.

The older members of Ornith's Flock knew that to evade a predator, they had to split up and not group together to increase their chances of survival. Many individuals spilled out of the recently made entrance hole and were sprinting away as fast as they could, ignoring the electrical discharges from their collar. However, the more lax members and younger Park born _Ornithomimus_ had no idea how to properly flee from a carnivore due to inexperience and being frightened at the sudden arrival of Diablo. This resulted with them grouping together and fleeing with the _Carnotaurus_ stomping after them, including her son who gathered all of the young followers and leading them away to the other hole in their fence line from Theo and Ellie. Despite Axel NOT doing their species' evade tactic correctly, Ornith admired her hatchling's willingness to step up to the position of leader to guide followers like she would do. However, he would need an experienced mind if he wanted to ensure the survival of the group he's leading. Cursing under her breath, Ornith managed to call out to another older member of her Flock through the chaos.

"Gather the stragglers that fled to the north and get them to regroup at the Valley section of the Park!" Ornith cried out as she sprinted past her follower.

"Where are you going Leader-Ornith?!"

"To make sure my hatching does not get half our Flock killed!"

She sprinted after the fleeing group; some stragglers that were running chaotically chose to follow their courageous leader after seeing her confident stance of her being in control despite the presence of a theropod. Ornith, and her new sizable group of stragglers, sprinted expertly past the horned carnivore and nimbly dodged the threatening snaps of his jaws. The Leader of the Flock shot out of the boundaries of their enclosure, only wincing momentarily from the sudden shock of their collars, and swiftly caught up to her son's group. He was keeping pace with both Theo and Ellie and was sticking close to the horned herbivores. In Axel's mind, he assumed that they would be safer if they stuck with a bigger and less threatening Resident to survive. If the situation wasn't so dire, Ornith would have disciplined her hatchling for his shortsighted blunder, but her complaints would have to take a back seat for the more urgent matter at hand. Sprinting to take the lead, Ornith gently nudged Axel to the side to regain some semblance of order from the panicked youths of her Flock.

"Scoot over hatchling," Ornith said to her speed-inclined son, "Momma is taking the lead."

"Thanks Mom!" Axel cried out, relieved that his mother would take the lead.

"That's Leader-Ornith to you!" She playfully teased. "Well Follower-Axel, you wanted to see if you and your friends were the fastest. Now you get to see that AND get to experience what it was like to live in the Homeland."

"Urgh, don't remind me…" Looking to his left, Axel was running next to Theo, who was surprisingly keeping pace despite his large mass. The young Bird-mimic dinosaur decided to strike up a conversation with the foreign Resident. Might as well since odds were that he or any number of members might get eaten. "Do ya know what's got 'Devil-boy' all worked up?"

Theo just continued to breathe heavily as he kept up his current gait. "No clue buddy! The guy just crashed through my home and chased us out!"

The new group of fearful Resident picked up the pace when Diablo aggressively roared out again. Trying to find a bright side to the situation, Axel said one of the most forbidden words that should NEVER be strung together: "Well, at least it can't get any worse."

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 _Currently fleeing from Therizinosaurus Paddock towards Deinosuchus Dip..._

"I TAKE IT BACK! THIS IS MUCH WORSE!" Axel screamed as he ducked another swipe from an irate Bruno, who was followed closely by the three other members of his Tribe.

"Less talking and more running Follower-Axel!" Ornith yelled as she too evaded a wild slash from the primal Scythe-Lizards.

"BRUNO WILL SPEAR RUNNERS AND THREE HORNS!" The ill-tempered Chief roared at his fleeing offenders.

Bruno and his Tribe were minding their own business and munching on plants near the fence of their enclosure until they were interrupted the chaotic stampede stomping past their home. Diablo timed a well placed roar and bodily shove just right for Theo to accidently slam into Ellie, which in turn caused her to sideswipe a part of the _Therizinosaurus's_ wood barricade. This caused part of their fence to break off and strike Bruno's head. Suffice to say, he did not like bodily harm to himself.

At his command, Bruno and his Tribe tackled their habitat's bars together and forced their way out to give chase to the creatures that caused their Chief pain. Diablo noticed the herbivorous theropods giving chase and temporarily broke off his pursuit and circled round to let the Therizinosaurs gain some ground. The Flock of _Ornithomimus_ and _Triceratops_ pair thought they were safe when their initial pursuer broke off, but they quickly doubled their pace when Bruno and his pack of slash-happy followers started to take swings at them. Despite their potbellied physique and disproportioned forearms, Bruno and his Tribe could really give chase when the situation called for it.

"GET BACK HERE SO BRUNO CAN SPEAR YOU!" The dinosaur tribal leader nasally shrieked.

"We're sorry for hurting you big guy! Please stop chasing us and threating to gut us!" Ellie screamed behind her at the incensed Scythe-Lizard.

Before he could even consider showing mercy, his fellow tribesman/rival Dankana sprinted in sync with Bruno. "Chief Bruno! Female-Xyráfi sees horned Hunter-Killer chasing after our Tribe!"

Chief Bruno, while still running after his targets, craned his long neck to look behind him and sure enough, Diablo resumed his chase of the fleeing Residents; Bruno and his Tribe being the latest additions of his "Cattle drive".

"Uh-oh!" Bruno grunted in slight fear as the large _Carnotaurus_ bellowed out promises of death from his jaws.

Despite being descended from theropods, _Therizinosauruses_ were still herbivores that would avoid confrontations with carnivores (or Hunter-Killers in his species' terms) if they could help it. While Bruno would usually attack threats like carnivores to protect his Tribe, it would take too long to halt his sprinting, turn around, and attack Diablo without suffering a potentially fatal blow to himself so continuing to run away was the better option. Thinking to himself for all of two seconds to get his followers out of this mess, Bruno revealed his new plan to his Tribe.

"Dankana! You and Xyráfi run faster and SPEAR Runners and Three Horns! We spear creatures that hurt Bruno's head, Hunter-Killer stops chasing Bruno and Tribe!" The Chief's illogical plan seemed to have made sense to his other brutish followers because his rival and a female _Therizinosaurus_ sped up their gait and started to make wild swipes at the escaping Residents. At this point, Theo, Ellie, Axel and Ornith and her Flock had no idea what was worse, the Bull-carnivore or Bruno and his Tribesmen on a hair-trigger. They continued running in the direction of a certain prehistoric crocodilian in hopes of losing their mutual predator there.

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 _At Deinosuchus Dip…_

Irwin was lazily floating in his lake, with no particular purpose in mind. One of the downsides of being in a Resident in Prehistoric Park he supposed, but there was nothing he could do about that. While he slowly swam aimlessly, a few of the younger Nile Crocodiles were current sunning themselves on his back. He honestly didn't mind since their weight was hardly noticeable on his 40-foot long body, it got him to bond with the young crocodiles and it gave them a place to sun themselves without going to shore. The _Deinosuchus_ was drifting near the bridge that ran across his lake when the young crocodiles noticed something from their vantage point and quickly scrambled into the water.

"Wonder what those ankle-bitters were so worked up abou—!" Whatever Irwin was going to say was cut from his thoughts as he witnessed the peculiar sight sprinting past his bridge. A group of panicked Residents, led by Theo, Ellie, and that Ornith lady, were running away from Bruno and his pack of crazies; a few were taking wild swings at the fleeing herbivore, but to no avail.

"IRWIN! HELP US!" Theo screamed as he swiftly raced past the befuddled Croc along with his female companion.

"IT'S THAT NEW GUY!" One of Ornith's underlings cried out, he too was streaking across the bridge with a sizable amount of Ornith's Flock running after their leader.

"What the bloody hell… What new guy?!" He called out to their retreating forms. His answer came from Bruno, who was urging his Tribe to move at impressive running for their size.

"THE HORNED HUNTER-KILLER!"

Irwin was trying to decipher the meaning of the passing group's panicked cries. ' _A horned Hunter-Killer? What the bloody hell does that—_ '

 ***RRRRROOOOOAAAARRRR!***

His inner musings were cut short when he caught sight of Diablo stomping across his bridge. Quickly deducing the cause of his fellow Residents' collective threat, Irwin hastily readied himself in a classic lunge position at the middle of the bridge in an attempt to intercept the devilish dinosaur.

"Oh no you don't mate… Irwin's got a little surprise for someone like you." He muttered to himself as his webbed feet and large rudder-like tail tensed in anticipation. He may have been out of practice when it came to ambush hunting, but he would be damned if he didn't try to stop this hostile Land-Walker from eating his neighbors. Just as Diablo made it to the middle of the bridge, Irwin chose that moment to strike. "Gotcha!"

The _Deinosuchus_ shot forward like an arrow with his maw opened wide in a roar to bite down and drag the unsuspecting theropod into to the water. Irwin's plan was flawless. His lunge was perfect, the area where he targeted would cripple any Land-Walker, and Diablo was caught completely unawares if the startled look on his face was anything to go by. It would have gone off without a hitch if it weren't for his Perimeter Collar choosing at that moment to go off when it sensed Irwin straying out of his enclosure.

 ***BBBZZZZZZTTTT** *

"GAH! SONNOVAH—!"

The electricity flowing through his body and making his muscles spasm uncontrollably caused Irwin to tense up in pain and disrupt his perfect ambush. His body slammed heavily onto the wooden bridge, causing some of the planks to break beneath his massive girth and subsequently made him fall short in reaching Diablo. As Irwin was quickly slinking back into the waters of his lake to make the Perimeter Collar become passive again, Diablo shot him a condescending toothy grin.

"Almost fellow carnivore, but you'll have to do better than that!" With a mocking chortle, Diablo raced off to continue his shepherding of his ever-growing stampede.

Enraged, Irwin released a threatening hiss at the _Carnotaurus's_ retreating form.

"GOD BLOODY DAMN IT!" The _Deinosuchus_ roar in fury to help vent his feelings of how useless he currently felt. He had to warn Aladar and his underlings of their coming enemy, because if what he had learned from the rumors of Prehistoric Park's recent carnivore were true, then he had a major bone to pick with the blue _Iguanodon's_ herd.

Running through a number of ideas in his head he called out to his favorite blue and grey dental bird. "COLGATE! I NEED YOU NOW!"

Flittering through the air was the tiny bird, who perched herself on Irwin's snout.

"Yes Mister Irwin sir?" Colgate chirped in a singsong like voice. "What do you need?"

"What's the fastest way to get to the Valley section where the new Residents are at? I need to cut off that bloke Diablo before he gets there." The _Deinosuchus_ decided not to mince his words, and got to the meat of his concerns. At the severity of the situation, Colgate took a moment to think about her answer before giving it to her favorite client.

"If you head directly east from here on foot, then you should reach—"

Irwin shook his head negatively; nearly making the tiny bird perched on his nose fall off. "No, that won't work! I can't make that hike with my crap land speed, even if I can sprint in short bursts!"

Irwin may have been an excellent swimmer, but he was too slow and cumbersome on land. Colgate scrunched up her face again to think of an alternative way for the giant Croc to get to his destination.

"Well… there is a river that flows near the lake that the Herd lives by that's just north of here. But the river is still far from our lake and you would have to hoof it for quite a bit before you even reach it, THEN you would have to swim against the current to get there. This is not including the problems that your collar provides Mister Irwin."

"Well, it'll have to do. I can handle the rest of the details on my own. Just let me worry about getting out of here." Irwin swiftly swam north, causing Colgate to fly off his snout from the sudden movement.

Traveling to the northern most point of his lake, he aimed himself at the end of his bridge that had a road that traveled north in the direction of river Colgate mentioned. Taking a few moments to psych himself up, Irwin shot forward yet again. He regretted telling Hazel and her friends that bluff about the barrier not hurting him one bit. In reality, they hurt him big time! As his body launched out of the Dip, the Perimeter Barrier detected Irwin straying again and discharged its electricity.

For what felt like hours for the _Deinosuchus,_ Irwin slowly crawled away from his enclosure's Barrier field. It felt as if every single cell in his body was on fire! And his laughable terrestrial speed only prolonged his suffering. The only source of power Irwin could pull from was his will and his eagerness to warn Aladar and his friends in time for the coming dangers yet to come. After several minutes of dragging his massive body across the ground, the Collar sputtered out when it detected it was out of range of the Perimeter Barrier's influence. Collapsing on the ground in relief for a few moments, his eyes tearing up and panting at the physical pain he had to suffer through, Irwin forced himself up off the ground to resume his long trek to the river.

"Come on Irwin," He said to himself, giving himself a pep talk. "You still aren't outta the woods yet! I got a long ass hike in front of me before I can get to the river to swim and warn that Aladar bloke. COME ON!"

The 40-foot long _Deinosuchus_ continued at his lumbering gait, moving as fast has he could to his destination.

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 _Later at the Elasmotherium Paddock…_

The male Ice Age Rhino was grumpily letting some keepers clean out his enclosure. Why the humans shoveled at his feces was anyone's guess, and it was freaking disgusting, but he didn't particularly care. Just so long as they did there job and stayed not a moment more, then that was the price he had to pay.

He was looking for a hardened surface to sharpen his horn on. It was essential that he kept his massive horn cared for and manageable since it would keep growing like his hair. It was just so difficult to find something to sharpen it against. Most of the time, his horn would break apart the objects that he rubbed against or he wouldn't be able to get all of his horn sharpened to his standards. It was a real pain in his flank! Just as he was about to use a sizable boulder to sharpen his 7-foot monolith growing on his skull, his nose picked up foreign scents of Residents again.

He looked in the direction of where the intruders were coming from, his nose picking them up way before they got into actual visual range. From what the Pleistocene herbivore could tell, there was a large group of them. The male ruled out another one of Hazel's "tour groups" since he saw the human girl fly off in the direction of Nigel's Treetop Den, which was south of his enclosure; this group was coming from the north. Just as he about to ignore the odd group coming towards his habitat, a new smell wafted into his nostrils. While he was unfamiliar with the new scent assaulting his sense of smell, it did bear similarities to a certain moody T-Rex teen that he had the displeasure of evading last time Prehistoric Park had the problem.

A carnivore was loose in the Park.

"Damn it! Not again!" The _Elasmotherium_ grunted to himself. He was about to retreat deeper into his enclosure, farther away from the fence line and hope that the predator would be satisfied running after the group of Residents it already had. What made him reconsider were the park keepers that were still meandering about near the fence line.

While he had no love for any of the human annoyances, or any other creature for that matter, he didn't want them to die. Their bodies would mush underfoot from the coming stampede and it would stain the grass in his favorite grazing area red from their blood! So to save the humans, and more importantly the pristine condition of his home's grass, the burly male rhino degraded himself to his lowest possible standard.

" **GGGRRROoooooAAANN!**!" The _Elasmotherium_ bellowed out, shaking in head back and forth in a rabid-like manner.

"Hey, what's up with the _Elasmotherium_?" One of the female keepers questioned as she watched concerned as he debased himself to look like a diseased bovine.

"Oh no, I hope he doesn't have some kind of prehistoric 'Mad Cow Disease'. How in the world would we treat that? Dude's the size of an elephant!" Another keeper said, propping up his shovel in a resting position.

"Well, we'll have to sedate him and call it in if we're gonna get any answers." The woman urged her small group of keepers to stop what they were doing and gather inside of the enclosure to get their Tranq-guns. As each keeper safely got out of the road and into the relative safety of his enclosure, the Ice Age herbivore immediately stopped his acting and bolted southward of his enclosure; which surprised the keepers of his sudden action.

"What the HECK!? Where is he going?!" The woman shouted in surprise. Her answer was in the form of the sudden stampede that made its way around the bend. The human keepers were dumbstruck at the stampede rushing past them.

The _Elasmotherium_ crashed through his flimsy enclosure, bellowing in pain at the sudden jolt of his collar, and then galloping away with Diablo's stampede on his heels. His two ceratopsian neighbors that were in the forefront of the "Resident rampage group" then matched his speeds and were now on either side of him.

"Howdy neighbor! What brings you out here?" Theo joked as he continuously panted at the excursion he was currently under. The wooly rhino just gave a deep snarl of annoyance as he hip-bumped the young _Triceratops_ before galloping faster ahead. This caused Theo to slightly stumble and nearly trip and get trampled on, much to Ellie's distress. But luckily, he recovered in time and continued running with out a miss step.

"Theo!" Ellie yelled.

"Yeah?"

"How about we save your jokes for a time when we AREN'T running for our lives?!"

The _Elasmotherium_ just groaned in annoyance. The things he did for a clean enclosure.

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 _Later at Plateosaurus Woods…_

Mujaji was currently socializing with two separate species and their leaders at the moment. She and the rest of her Sisterhood were finally reaching out to interact with some of the Residents of Prehistoric Park, much to her elephant sisters' reluctance. However, since Mujaji was the Matriarch, she had the authority to make these types of calls. Their plan was to introduce themselves to one of the species of the park, but fortunately—or unfortunately for her sisters— they got two for the price of one in the form of meeting Thena and Oddie's troop of _Plateosauruses_ and Leading Lady Yin along with her _Borealosaurus_ Flock.

Her xenophobic followers were a bit intimidated at the sheer size of the prosauropod and sauropod dinosaurs, but after constant cajoling and reassurances from herself and the leaders of the respective Residents, Mujaji's herd calmed down and relaxed slightly in the presence of their prehistoric neighbors. Now, they were meandering about the area and striking up conversation with some of the _Plateosaurus_ on the other side of their enclosure's walls. Thena was taking full advantage of meet with her long time present day neighbors; quenching her thirst of knowledge by inquiring facts about every little detail on elephants. Oddie was shaking his head in sympathy for the elephant sister enduring his mate's constant questioning. Mujaji's Sisterhood still kept their distance from the park's Titanosaurs due to their towering stature, but they were at least cordial enough to answer questions when one of Yin's herd members asked questions for the smaller pachyderms.

"It is an amazing sight, is it not?" A voice broke Mujaji out of her reflection of the situation.

Striding towards her was Yin, who has taken a break from grazing at the treetops to greet the elephant Matriarch. She stopped a distance away, but her titanic neck craned down until Yin's massive head was a few feet from where Mujaji stood so she could talk to her at her eye level. Mujaji giggled slightly as she turned back to watching her herd socialize with the other Residents.

"It was a long time coming, if you ask me." The Matriarch said as she watched the amusing sight of Oddie physically drag his mate away to spare one of her sisters from Thena's interrogation. "Although I love my Sisterhood with all my heart, they can be so stubborn when it comes to meeting you Rift Creatures."

"Well, as the humans say, 'Better late than never' right?" Mujaji nodded at Yin's sentiment as they enjoyed the peace that was occurring between the three species of Prehistoric Park.

The serenity of the moment was not meant to last however, as they were interrupted by a chaotic group of Residents stomping past the three herds in the area.

"What in the name of the Maker?" Yin's head shot up in shock as she took in the sight of the fleeing pack of Residents rushing past them on the main road. From what she could see, the _Triceratops_ , _Therizinosaurs_ , _Ornithomimus_ Flock, and the grumpy _Elasmotherium_ all bolted as fast as they could; some of Bruno's followers still attempting to slash at the panicked creatures they were chasing. Yin could only gasp in horror at what she thought would never occur again in her lifetime. "Oh no… Not again!"

"Again? What do you mean Yin?" Mujaji asked as she too took in the puzzling sight. The stampede had caught the attention of all of the other herbivores of the area. They too watched in amazement at the rushing creature running on the trail.

Yin looked down at her newest pachyderm friend. "It appears that another break out has occurred. Similar to the one that happened years ago."

It was then that Mujaji started to feel frightened. Not for herself, but for her calf that might be targeted by a carnivore like last time. "Then are we in danger?!"

"I don't believe we are Mujaji, don't worry." The Titanosaur Lead Lady calmly reassured the worried elephant. "With my Flock's massive size, no predator will mess with us. That tiny _Troodon_ probably escaped and is causing a ruckus again. I'm sure that Nigel and his human keepers are taking care of it as we speak. As long as we keep a cool head, we have nothing to worry about."

Unbeknownst to the three groups of herbivores, who were still watching the retreating group of Residents, a certain carnivore parted some thick jungle leaves that kept him hidden. Diablo looked a little worse for wear at the moment. He wasn't joking when he said it had been a while since he stretched his legs; he was freaking exhausted! He had forgotten how tiresome it had been to run down his prey. Diablo had to make some short cuts to cut off and keep up with the fleeing leaf-suckers just to ensure that they were still on the intended trail that he wanted them on.

What made it worse was that his main focus wasn't to hunt, but to shepherd, so he couldn't eat any of his fleeing quarry; at least at the moment. It was fortunate that those razor clawed dimwits were slightly helping, unbeknownst to them, but he knew that he couldn't rely on them forever; they would eventually run out of stamina before they even got to the Herd Grounds. He was currently sucking in air greedily as he tried to regain a bit of his stamina to resume his tireless chase.

"Man… Papa's out of shape…" The _Carnotaurus_ male heavily panted until he gained a semblance of his normal breathing. "Now where are they—" Diablo cut himself off as he grinned at the boon that he stumbled upon.

The Titanosaurs were directly in his sights, along with two other species but they were irrelevant at the moment. He had heard of how the massive sauropods' lumbering had caused the last outbreak if what he heard from Espantos was true. However, he was disappointed to hear that they never stayed in one area for long and would always roam across Prehistoric Park randomly, looking for leaves to gorge themselves on. Diablo didn't plan for then Titanosaurs to be in his little stampede due to their roaming nature, but with them currently gawking at the fleeing Residents it was too perfect of an opportunity to pass up.

The horned predator was silently scanning the group of titanic herbivores; trying to find one that would easily incite panic amongst the gathered animals. After quickly searching, he spotted a slightly younger _Borealosaurus_ female near the fence of the caged leaf-suckers and directly behind the larger sauropods and peculiar grey skinned tusked creatures. She was slightly shifting from side to side in fear and was clearly one who would startle easily. So with his plan quickly made, he circled the group of herbivore, the tree's foliage providing coverage for him to sneak up of them. When he was directly behind the timid female Titanosaur, he charged at her and his jaws clamped down viciously on her leg. Of course, with a creature as immense as a _Borealosaurus_ his bite didn't do too much damage. In the end, he didn't need her dead, he needed her frightened.

Shian the _Borealosaurus_ female yelped when she felt a sudden piercing pain shoot up her leg. She sharply looked down and her eyes widened in fear. At her feet was a red and grey, horned theropod that was definitely _not_ a small _Troodon_. From the blood on her leg and the blood staining the predator's maw, which he was licked off his face menacingly, she quickly deduced what had happened and began to hyperventilate.

' _Oh sweet Maker! He was eating me! HE WAS EATING ME! He was—He was—!"_ Whatever she was thinking of was cut off, as Diablo decided to put one final nail in the coffin for the panicky sauropod.

" **RRRROOOOOOAAAAARRRR!"**

"CARNIVORE!"

At the timid Titanosaur's shriek, the other immense sauropods began panicking. Shian's eagerness the getaway caused her to collide with another member of her Flock, their bodies slamming together sounding like thunder. As the female kept screaming about how she had been "eaten", she caused everyone else's fears to escalate as they were running around in a frenzy, running and crashing into unsuspecting herd mates to further add fuel to the panic. Their massive footsteps caused Mujaji and the rest of her herd to flee in order to avoid getting stepped on. They tore off down the main road that led back to the Valley section of the park, which their savannah was next door to.

One particular _Borealosaurus_ slammed his head through the _Plateosaurus_ enclosure in the pandemonium. With sweep of his long neck, he effortlessly tore down their fence wall as he began to turn away and circle around to his herd. Unfortunately, his whip-like tail following behind him made contact with a massive tree in the enclosure and cracked against it to make it collapse among the thoroughly frightened _Plateosauruses_. Not wanting to wait for another sauropod to accidently crush them, the troop of prosauropods rushed out of their habitat, led frantically by Thena and Oddie, and away from any more trees that could potentially fall on them. Knowing that the Valley was almost devoid of any towering trees, the prosauropod leaders led their followers to what they assumed would be safety.

Yin was doing her best to calm her followers down with the help of her second-in-command Zhao. It was all for naught because as soon as the timid Shian spotted Diablo running towards her, she let out a terrified wail and retreated down the main road heading towards the Aladar's Herd Ground. In the fearful frenzy, other _Borealosaurs_ followed suit, ignoring the calls of their Alpha female trying to regain control of her Flock.

"Wait! Stop! EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" Yin's words were not enough for the riled up Flock as they stomped in the direction of the Valley. Huffing in frustration, Yin turned to her second-in-command who strode up to his leader in concern.

"Yin, what do we do now?"

After a moment of deliberation, she gave her answer. "My Flock will not fall easily to just one disgruntled predator with a chip on the shoulder." Yin said as she fully faced her second, "However, in their state, they are a danger to themselves and all those around them if they continue to stomp around in a panic. We need to find Hazel or SOMEONE to help calm down my Flock before they cause more chaos to Prehistoric Park!"

When Zhao nodded in agreement, she lumbered off towards Nigel's Treetop Den, with him following closely to his leader, in hopes of finding Hazel or the park creator to help them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _At the Bug House…_

It was midday and was very uneventful for the Carboniferous era Bugs. Of course, they were well cared for by Nigel and his human keepers, but they did not have much else to do in their large, but finite space of their specialized greenhouse. It made Scorpio and Twitch a little stir crazy; even Ben felt a little antsy at times. But the Bugs couldn't do much about the situation.

The _Arthroplerua_ was watching his miniscule friend Scorpio trying to agitate a large bullfrog that the keepers sent in as a treat for Twitch. She kept poking and prodding the amphibian into attacking her to alleviate her boredom. The frog couldn't even hop away because whenever it tried, the _Pulmonoscorpius_ would just snatch it up with her pincers and drag it back just for Scorpio to resume poking at it. Just as the frog looked like it was about to attack the giant scorpion by leaping towards her, granting the short-fused arachnid her wish for conflict, Twitch zoomed by and deftly snatched up the bullfrog in mid-leap before Scorpio could strike it with her stinger.

"TWITCH-BUZZER WINGS! Squishy Hoppy-Thing is Scorpio's stinging poisoned thing!" Scorpio chittered as she brandished her pincers in anger at the giant dragonfly hovering in midair with the now dead bullfrog in his grasp. Twitch was busy ripping into the frog's head with his mandibles before acknowledging the irate scorpion.

" _Sorry, sorry, sorry Scorpio-Poisoner! Twitch hunger-crave Squishy Hoppy-Thing, and Twitch buzz-fly round Jungle-Home until Twitch search-found Scorpio-Poisoner poke-playing with Squishy Hoppy-Thing_!" The _Meganerua_ hyperactively spoke as he dropped the frog carcass onto the floor of their home. Scorpio just shrieked her grievances at the hyper dragonfly as Ben watched.

If Ben was gifted with a head and actual lungs, he would be sighing at his friends' childish display and shake his head. It was honestly like he was the only arthropod in the Bug House to reach his adulthood. He was about to skitter to his friends to break up their petty squabble when the mega-arthropod felt something in the earth.

At first, it was just a slight tremble that he initially dismissed as his imagination. But the trembles just kept growing steadily until it felt like rolling thunder striking the ground. The tremors in the earth only became worse as it started to shake the very foundation of the Bug House. Ben and Scorpio nearly lost their footing since they were bound to the earth, while Twitch had to dodge debris that fell from the ceiling that was shaken loose from the building. The man-size millipede ordered both scorpion and dragonfly to take refuge beneath his body to shield them from some of the debris since his exoskeleton and size was sturdier than Ben's more frail in comparison housemates.

"BEN-SKITTER LEGS! WHY IS DIRT-GROUND SHAKING JUNGLE-HOME?!" Scorpio cried out from beneath him, somehow managing to sound frightened and pissed off at the same time. Before Ben could answer the 3-foot long scorpion, all of the Bugs were caught off guard by what they thought was thunder making a part of their greenhouse explode.

 ***CCCRRRRAAAASSSHHHH!** *

Just then, the stampede outside caused by Diablo just reached the Bug House. In one _Borealosaurus's_ haste to escape the pursuing predator, his body accidently slammed into the side of the Carboniferous Bugs' enclosure. With the force of a 30-meter long, several dozen ton Titanosaur, the side of the building easily crumbled. Luckily, it did not cause the entire building to collapse on top of the Bug Residents.

However, due to the oxygen-rich environment of the Bug House and a certain part of building creating a spark when the flustered Titanosaur made contact, it swiftly ignited a flash-fire and set aflame all of the tropical plants inside the greenhouse. The dense oxygen levels flushed quickly out of the newly created hole on the side of the Bug House, causing the flames on the plants to spew out to the stampeding Residents outside. It only lasted for a second, and it didn't even reach far enough to scorch their skin, but because of every creature's primal fear of fire, the prehistoric animals of the group bellowed out in fear and redoubled their efforts to run away.

The inside of the Bug House was still in flames. While it no longer burned as violently as the start of the blaze, it was still a danger to the Carboniferous Residents of the park. Ben and the other Bugs were spared being burned alive because of being so low to the ground and the _Arthroplerua's_ quick thinking of slightly burying himself before the fire started to protect himself and his friends. But the Bugs knew that they were not safe yet. The blaze continued to consume all of the plant life of their home, making the interior of the semi-standing greenhouse fill up with smoke quickly.

" **Scorpio-Poisoner! Twitch-Buzzer Wings! Fire is eat Jungle-Home!** " Ben coughed as he cautiously crawled towards the opening in their habitat to safety. " **Bugs no skitter-flee Jungle-Home, Fire is will eat BUGS!** "

Both Twitch and Scorpio hastily hitched a ride on Ben's back since he was the fastest when crawling on the ground; Scorpio's small stature made terrestrial travel slow for her, and Twitch wouldn't be able to see or breathe with all of the smoke clogging up the air. After what seemed like ages, Ben had finally breached the choking smog of the fire and crawled a several yards away from their burning building with his fellow Bugs latched on his back. The Bug Residents, happy to have escaped their fiery demise, took a deep breath of the park's clean smoke-free air.

Their next breath turned into frantic, desperate gasps.

Ben, Scorpio, and Twitch were experiencing the outside world of their Bug House for the first time and it took their breaths away, literally. The present day's oxygen levels were not as concentrated as it was in the Carboniferous period and was slowly leeching their life away. It was as if they ran a marathon nonstop, and no matter how urgently they took in air, they just couldn't get enough to their bodies to feel comfortable.

"WHAT HAPPENING! SCORPIO CAN'T— *GASP*!" The normally angry shouting arachnid cut herself off, the low levels of the oxygen not providing her enough breath for her to scream at the top of her lungs.

" _Twitch no feelings good…_ " The _Meganerua_ wheezed pitifully, feeling the unforgiving environment of the 21st century as well.

Ben was hastily drawing in as much air as he could to sate his massive form. During all of the chaos that the stampeding Residents caused, the mega-arthropod overheard snippets of words that the prehistoric creature screamed out. They mostly said panicky words common in hysterical mobs like "Run", "I don't want to die", "Get away from me" and the like. But one set of words stood out to the giant millipede: "The Red Horned Monster".

Ben, like most of the prehistoric leaders of Prehistoric Park, is informed by Espantos of all of the current events of the park, including addition of new Residents. He remembered the zany Terror Bird rambling through the glass of the Bug House a few months back to tell him of a "Horned-Monster" that Hazel rescued and how hostile he was to everyone. The giant millipede could easily guess that the mayhem occurring at the moment had Diablo's name written all over it.

Once again, the _Arthropleura_ sucked in air greedily to attempt to fill his lungs. He couldn't reflect too long on the chaotic situation, because each minute they spent outside, was one minute closer to their deaths. They had to get help, and fast. Ben twisted his body around until Twitch was in his sights.

" **Twitch-Buzzer Wings is need to buzz-fly in airs. Search-find Hazel-Two Legs, search-find Bob-Round Shell, search-find Nigel-Saver, SEARCH-FIND ANY-HELPER LEGS!** " Ben's bass-like voice chittered with as much urgency as his lethargic tone he could muster. " **Human-Two Legs is needs be warned of frighten-scared Resident-Neighbors and Horn-Monster skitter-panicking in Park-Home!** "

Scorpio was surprisingly the voice of reason in this situation.

"Ben-Skitter Legs," Scorpio said in a soft, almost inaudible, whisper in an effort to conserve her breathing, "Bugs no breathe good… Outside's airs no feels good to Bugs… Twitch-Buzzer Wings flying high in airs… High in airs, more no feels good for Twitch-Buzzer Wings…"

The man-sized millipede was silent for a few moments, their labored breathing only breaking the silence. Ben knew Scorpio was right. The very air of the outside was hostile to them, and he was essentially putting Twitch in the most peril since he was the only one capable to find help faster with his gift of flight. The more altitude Twitch flew, the thinner the air would be, and the closer to the dragonfly potentially dying in midair. Before he could retract his order and think of something else, Twitch straightened up as much as his chitin-clad carapace could muster and fluttered his wings slightly. Despite his weakened state, Twitch still wanted to help in any way he possibly could.

" _Twitch search-find Hazel-Two Legs for helping and warns Hazel-Two Legs of Horn-Monster..."_ The giant dragonfly chittered in a more subdued tone of his hyper-voice. " _What Ben-Skitter Legs and Scorpio-Poisoner be doing when Twitch search-finds?_ "

Ben shifted his body to view a sign that showed the direction of certain buildings in the park and saw one where they may find the help they need. Although the creatures of Prehistoric Park didn't grasp the concept of their human caretakers' written language, they did understand symbols well. And the mega-arthropod was staring at a veterinary cross symbol of Suzanne's clinic and the direction it pointed towards, it being west of their position. It was fortunate that he associated the Red Cross symbol with Suzanne's job as the park's animal doctor when he recalled times when the kindly brunette woman would perform checkups for Ben and the other Bugs.

" **Sign showing Suzanne-Mender's Cross symbol. Ben follow sign direction to search-find Suzanne-Mender in Cross building. Ben take Scorpio-Poisoner to get helping for Bugs. After Twitch-Buzzer Wings search-founds Hazel-Two Legs, Twitch-Buzzer Wings buzz-fly to Suzanne-Mender's Cross building.** "

With a final nod of agreement, Twitch took a several deep breaths before he took to the skies to find their mutual human friend to inform her of what happened and of the "Horn-Monster".

Ben, who also inhaled deeply, gingerly picked up Scorpio with his mandibles like she was a porcelain doll and placed her on top of his back again. The previously ornery scorpion was so out of it that she allowed herself to be coddled like a new-hatched spawn, as she laid limply on Ben's exoskeleton. With his passenger situated, he began to crawl at a steady pace westward in hopes of finding Prehistoric Park's veterinarian in time.

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 _Sometime later at Big Cat Climb…_

"Tag! You're it!"

"NO FAIR TAI!"

Sabrina was currently lounging atop of her enclosure's manmade den, watching the two cubs next door gleefully playing with each other. The _Smilodon_ huntress habitually carved out a portion of her day to simply watch the young cubs she birthed from a distance. It always warmed her heart seeing Sable and Tai being happy. Sabrina lowered her gaze and mournfully sighed. Oh how she wished she could be included in their lives.

"Here again Sabrina?"

Shaking her out of her reverie was César, who walked up to his occupied mate during her self-reflection. Putting on her air feminine superiority, she hopped down from her elevated vantage point of the top of the den.

"I'm not sure of what you mean, dear." Sabrina smoothly countered with her nose slightly in the air. The male _Smilodon_ arched a brow at the haughty female and turned his head in the direction of their young neighbors. Tai and Sable were now playing tug-o-war with a rope toy, both trying to overpower the other. César just sighed as he looked back to his mate.

"Why do you keep doing this… Whatever this is Sabrina?"

"Quiet César!" Sabrina growled at the curious male, his line of thought straying a little too personally for her liking. "Whatever thoughts you're thinking, drop it. NOW…" The female padded away to sulk away from her mate.

César shook his head at his peculiar mate. One moment, she would be the dangerous Saber-Cat he had always known, the next she would be coveting cubs that she hasn't even raised. The male has been raised in a typical Saber-Tooth mindset, where family is the creature that brought you up and any others outside of the familial group were outsiders. Sabrina's actions were odd in the way that she pined for the younger cubs' wellbeing; yet she made no noticeable efforts to follow through with her desire. There were no rules amongst their species saying that she couldn't, but it was taboo enough that most _Smilodons_ stuck to tradition.

While César was contemplating his mate's strange empathy, something made Sabrina pause in her brooding.

The Pleistocene feline's right ear twitched at the out of place sounds. It resembled the rumbling of thunder, but she immediately dismissed that thought since there was not a cloud in the sky. She walked up to her enclosure's fence line to see if what was causing her to worry was outside. The Big Cat strained her neck to look down the road running parallel to the enclosure.

Sabrina's eyes widened at what see saw coming towards them. "César, back up! BACK UP NOW!"

Both _Smilodons_ leaped back when a frenzied hoard came crashing through Big Cat Climb. A _Plateosaurus_ male managed to break into the adjoining habitats, causing the flimsy fence material to collapse. Right at the prosauropod's heels was a seemingly endless hoard of _Ornithomimus_ and other frightened Plateosaurs, all causing just as much destruction; shrieking and roaring out in terror. They made a beeline directly to the other side of the enclosure and proceeded to burst through that barricade as well. Their stomping around caused many of the Cat's climbing logs to fall apart; some logs crashing against the Cubs' enclosure fence. The adult Saber-Cats were luckily safe from the stampeding Residents; the rushing dinosaurs only managed to scrape and batter their fences, making the wall still intact. However, while Sabrina and César were kept safe, Sable and Tai were put in peril.

"AIIEEEE!"

"HELP!"

The destructive stampede crashed through the Cubs' enclosure and nearly stomped everything in their path. Sable and Tai were fortunate enough to take refuge at the highest point of their children's playground structure, managing to climb on top of the plastic roof. However, their play structure offered little defense against the panic and chaos caused by the bulky Plateosaurs and fleet footed _Ornithomimus_ hoard. One _Plateosaurus_ grazed the side of the Saber-kitten's structure while it was fleeing and caused it to shake its very foundation, causing Sable to lose her footing.

"AAHHH! TAI, HELP ME!" Sable cried, her tiny claws trying to dig into the plastic to prevent her from falling into the living stream of panicked dinosaurs on ground level. The heavy footfalls from the _Plateosaurus_ and _Ornithomimus_ Residents caused all freestanding structures to shake uncontrollably, making the female Cub's grip even more difficult to hold on.

"I'm trying! Sis, hang on!" Tai was trying to pull his sibling up by the nape of her neck, but to little avail; his young body didn't have enough strength to pull her up.

"Help… please…" Sable cried, fearing for her life. Tears were running down her face as her body was slowly sliding its way off the safety of the plastic rooftop, her claws seeming to only delay what would be inevitable, towards what would spell death for her if Sable were caught under the stomping feet of the stampeding Residents.

On the other side of the fence, Sabrina witnessed all of it happening in the span of seconds. In that moment, something awakened inside of the _Smilodon_ huntress.

"NOOO!" Without even thinking, Sabrina leapt into action.

Leaving her stunned mate behind, she tried to claw her way through the dividing walls of the enclosure. The huntress paid for her actions by the still active Perimeter Barrier sensing her attempting to breach the fence line. Yelping from having electricity course through, she backed away quickly.

"Sabrina! What are you doing?!" César didn't get an answer as Sabrina roared in fury of her attempts getting dashed by the human's security measures.

Darting her head around to come up with a new plan, she spotted parts of their climbing-logs precariously leaning against the enclosure's fence that spilled partially into the Cubs' habitat. Like a bat out of hell, Sabrina dashed to the fallen structure and began to climb. The endless hoard of the _Plateosaurus_ and _Ornithomimus_ group was continuing to destabilize the fallen structure with their earth shaking footsteps; Sabrina's added weight didn't help matters as some of the logs continued to snap loose and nearly made the female fall from her perilous height. But her safety was not important to her at the moment.

Her children were.

Reaching the top of the climbing logs, she was again hit with an electrical current when her Perimeter Collar detected the breach that the climbing-logs caused and Sabrina's proximity to said damage. This caused her to shutter in pain, but she was fighting through it. Taking steps across the rickety climbing equipment, all while fighting through the pain of her electrical collar, Sabrina's determination got her to her children's side of the enclosure. Just in time too, because as she crossed the threshold, a _Plateosaurus's_ body accidently slammed into the enclosure's fence.

Sabrina fell into the neighboring enclosure in an ungraceful heap. While she was bruised at the sudden rough landing, she was at least spared from her Perimeter Collar's influence as it was out of range of her home habitat. Sighing in relief, Sabrina quickly surveyed the current situation.

The hoard of dinosaurs still seemed to stream underneath the Cubs' destabilizing play equipment, with Sable sliding closer to the edge of the plastic roof. Now Sabrina had to fight her way through the bodies of panicked Residents to rescue the imperiled _Smilodon_ Cubs. Before the Saber-Tooth female could try to find a way around the sprawl of rushing Residents, Sable's back legs slipped off the plastic roof.

"AHH! TAI I'M SLIPPING!" The scared Sable cried out to her brother.

With the decision made for her, Sabrina roared out and ran towards the stampede of bodies head on. Her natural intimidation as a predator made some of the _Ornithomimus_ veer away from her direction, which Sabrina used as much to her advantage. The Plateosaurs however, were unheeded by the Saber-Cat's threat display; Sabrina being too small to catch their attention. She nimbly dodged getting crushed underfoot of the prosauropods, which in turn caused her to leap into the path of another sprinting _Ornithomimus_ ; a swift kick to her side being the result. Still, she pushed on and fought through the throngs of Residents to get to her little girl that she acknowledged as her own.

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 _With the Saber-Cat twins…_

Sable couldn't hold on for much longer. Her sibling Tai was trying to get her to safety, but even he couldn't help. Her arms were achy and begging for rest, but Sable knew she'd be dead if her claws let go of the roof. Taking a fall from this height would kill her if she landed wrong; that was if the chaotic prehistoric creatures rushing just beneath her didn't trample her to death even if she somehow survived the fall. The young Saber-Cub was fully crying now as a number of questions ran through her little head.

Why was this happening? How was their day of fun turned into a fight for survival? Where was her Mommy Suzanne?

Another panic-ridden Resident bumped into their crumbling refuge again, causing the play structure to shake and Sable and Tai to lose their footing again. Her brother luckily didn't fall off and recovered quickly, but Sable herself slid down even further; her feet now dangling off the roof of their playground.

"AHH! TAI I'M SLIPPING" Sable shrieked as she clung to the plastic roof with nothing but her forepaws. Her back legs were kicking wildly, trying to find anything to scramble up on, to no avail.

She was now sobbing in hysteria. With her strength waning, she shot her brother one last tearful look. She just hoped that he didn't blame himself for her fall. Another bump was her undoing as Sable's tiny claws reflexively detracted. Now in free fall, Sable's perspective seemed to move in slow-motion, her mind traveling a mile a second. One last time, Sable wished for a miracle to happen to save her from her death.

' _Mommy, please save me…'_

Time seemed to speed back up as reality caught up to the falling Saber-kitten as she cried out for what seemed to be her end.

"AAAHHH—OOFF!"

Halting her in midair, something or some _one_ snagged the nape of her neck. With Sable seeing her young life flash before her eyes, her mind didn't process who saved her. Though she did remember a tannish-brown blur leap to her rescue. She and her savior clumsily sprawled out on the lower level of the playset. As Sable shook her head at the sudden vertigo she got from her messy rescue, she turned her head at the sound of a feminine groan.

"Ugghh… I am REALLY going to feel this for a couple of days."

Sable only gaped at the surprise appearance of the older Saber-Cat Sabrina groaning on the floor in pain. The normally immaculate form of Sabrina was covered in bruises from various unknown means to the young Sable. She was stunned as she realized that _Sabrina_ was the one who saved her.

"S-S-Sabrina?" Sable stuttered in surprise.

The older Pleistocene carnivore ignored her pain for the moment and looked up at the little Cub. Sabrina in an instant rushed forward and embraced Sable in a loving hug, much to the young Saber-Cat's confusion.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" Sabrina cried out with tears flowing freely down her furred face. While Sable was still puzzled at the older Cat's odd actions, she couldn't help but snuggle into the embrace. Somewhere in her heart told her "this was right". The chaotic Residents thinned out and were sprinting off too another area of the park, making the danger pass for the Saber-Cats for the moment. The newly bonded mother-daughter pair was interrupted by the young voice of Tai.

"SABLE!" The male sibling cried out as he scaled down from the top of the playground. He rushed up Sabrina and Sable to join the heartfelt hug. "I'm so happy you're okay Sis!" Tai muffled into his sister's fur during their hug.

"Sabrina, are you okay?!" Sabrina turned toward the new voice, César, who clambered up the children's climbing equipment to check on his mate. Sabrina sighed, already weary from the chaos that occurred just moments ago.

"I'm fine dear, just a few bumps and bruises." The female feline arched her eyebrow at her mate's sudden appearance. "How did you get here from our enclosure César?"

"One of those _Ornithomimus_ guys kicked over our security generator and another from Thena and Oddie's Troop bumped and made a hole leading outside." The male _Smilodon_ said. He then eyed the young Cubs huddling under his mate with mild distain. Seeing César's judgmental eyes linger a little too long on Tai and Sable, Sabrina stood up tall and glared at her mate.

"I believe _dear_ , that we all should look for someone to help keep us safe." Sabrina sweetly said with a threatening growl hidden in her tone. "Don't you agree _dear_?"

César minutely flinched back, recognizing the faux sweet voice his mate was using. It was basically her telling him " _Go along with what I say or else I'll kill you!_ " Still mildly disgruntled, he put his feelings of the situation aside for the moment as he mutely nodded.

Proud of her mate seeing things her way, she turned back to the children with a genuine smile on her face. "Tai, Sable, we're going to go find Suzanne or Hazel to help keep us safe. You can tag along if you'd like."

"Sure Ms. Sabrina. As long as those other creatures don't come back again." Tai gratefully said as he walked to the recent opening in the fence, completely missing Sabrina sigh in sadness. It had seemed Tai still didn't understand that Sabrina was his birth mother. Before she could trudge off, Sable rubbed up against the older _Smilodon's_ foreleg.

"Thank you Sabrina…" Sable softly said with a small, grateful smile adorning her face. That alone brightened the _Smilodon_ huntress's day immensely.

As the estranged family of Saber-Cats padded cautiously outside, they found a park directory sign and followed it westward when they recognized Suzanne veterinary cross. A few minutes into their trek, the four _Smilodons_ once again felt tremors in the earth, but these ones were bigger… MUCH bigger!

Both Sabrina and César almost lost their footing with all of the vibrations in the ground; Sable and Tai scrambled underneath Sabrina for added safety from the foreboding tremors. The female squinted her eyes and focused her ears to pinpoint the origin of the chaotic shaking. Looking down the direction of road they were traveling, Sabrina's eyes turned into pinpoints as her ears flopped back in fear.

"C-César… a-are you seeing this…" Sabrina shakily started.

"Y-Y-Yeah…" The male responded, his tone reflecting Sabrina's fear.

Both Tai and Sable were curious what had gotten the two adult _Smilodons_ to be stunned in terror.

"What is it? Why are you two so scared?" The male sibling asked curiously.

Sable made her way in front of Sabrina to ask her directly. "Sabrina what is—?"

Whatever the Cubs' were thinking was cut off at the moment they were snatched up again by the napes of their necks. At an unspoken command, Sabrina and César grabbed Sable and Tai with their mouth and sprinted off in the opposite direction as fast as they could.

All through the bumpy ride of being dangled in the adults' jaws, Sable managed to look behind Sabrina to see what caused the grown ups to run away. Her eyes widen in fear and panic when she saw that was quickly gaining on them was a massive hoard of Residents stomping straight towards them. Now realizing the coming danger, Sable screamed in terror as she and her brother pleaded the adult Saber-Cats to run faster to get away from the stampede.

Both Sabrina and César's muscles were aching at the sudden exertion of trying to run as fast as they could. Their species was not designed with speed in mind; not like the fleet footed American Cheetahs. However, with the threat of becoming smears by their massive neighbors' footsteps, they were more than willing to try their paw at breaking some long distance running.

Unknown to them, they would be herded by a terrifying horned carnivore who had a massive grudge to settle with Aladar and his friends. The Saber family and all of the Residents of Prehistoric Park were unfortunately caught in the crossfire of the blue _Iguanodon's_ herd and the red _Carnotaurus's_ strife.


	23. Devil's Advocate: More Teeth

_**Soundtrack: The Great Escape by Daniel Pemberton**_

"I can't believe this!"

Hazel slammed her hands onto her mentor's desk, creating a slam that echoed for only a few seconds. Her right arm was still recovering and slamming it onto the desk slightly pained it a little, but that did not matter now. Eye twitching and a nerve that was close to popping on her forehead, she eyed him with pure outrage. Her reaction made Nigel jump a little, but he schooled his features at the now furious keeper. However, he was more fatigued and frustrated rather than angry at his student.

Just about thirty minutes ago, Hazel had arrived via a ride on Flia to his office. The woman bore a small smile on her face, looking poised to give her request. What she did not know was that she caught her boss and teacher at a very bad time; one where he was looking through all sorts of papers in order to solve the financial crisis. That problem had not been revealed to all of the staff members and only he along with Marcus knew about it. As such, Nigel had no intention of revealing it to young Hazel, unless he could not find an alternate solution.

The head park keeper did not want to break her heart. This park was her home and with her new ability to speak to the animals coupled with her newfound friends she had rescued not too long ago, telling her that the park would face its own extinction would tear her apart. Nigel could not bear to see Hazel walking down an empty street, her face sullen, and her eyes fatigued from crying. With her broken family relations, she would have trouble finding a place to stay. The zoologist did not want that for her; her place was here with her family and friends. But that goal would fade away if nothing was done.

At the moment, he had the fury of a woman scorned of an opportunity of another rescue to deal with. That was priority right now. The fight had been going on for what seemed to be forever, even though it honestly wasn't that long.

"I'm sorry Hazel," he sighed and put his hands on his forehead. "But I'm afraid I cannot give you permission to undergo such a mission."

"Nigel, what the hell!?" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Have you even listened to my request at all!? It's the rescue of one of the fiercest carnivores in all of prehistory! The frigging carnivore that ruled the Jurassic Period! THIS IS AN ALLOSAURUS!"

"I know what you said," he replied with ease, counteracting her defensive outburst. "But we have so much going on at the moment."

He took in a breath before he spoke out with his half-truth. He hoped this would be enough to sate her rage. "The _Ornithomimus_ are having their babies soon, the new shipments of food need to be organized before they are rationed out to all of the Residents, then there is the matter of tending to the new herd we rescued...they will be nesting soon and we must account for each and every incoming animal."

"Bullshit!" she cursed and threw her hands up in frustration. "There are at least a hundred employees in the park! They can handle all of that! Plus, I'm sure you've noticed that we've got SO MUCH FREAKING SPACE IN THE PARK! This place is big enough for another huge carnivore! And the ratios! We've got more herbivores than carnivores!"

Nigel gave her a blank look. He expected this discussion to become difficult. From the years he had known this girl, he knew that she would be a hard sellout. Once Hazel was set on a goal, she wouldn't give up on it so easily. Naturally, Nigel had the guts to try again.

"I'm sorry Hazel, but I don't want to delve into this any further. No matter what you say, it's going to be no. We're just far too busy at the moment. Not only that, but you haven't fully recovered from your fight with Nero," he reminded her.

The girl could not help but place a hand on her right ribcage when he mentioned that. Touching that part of her body sent little bits of aches through her, making her wince a little. Her wounds may be recovering well, but they were at a gradual pace. Bringing that up even made her think back to the more recent rescue, where Nero injured her for hiding her knowledge of the Fireball impact.

"I can't let you go out on your own in such a state."

"But I won't be alone!" Hazel argued. "Flia's coming with me! She's going to be keeping an eye on me while I'm in the past. So if I'm in a pickle, she'll be there to get me out of it!"

Nigel shook his head, putting his hands down to reveal his calm and collected features. "Sorry Hazel, no dice."

The woman let out a cry of fury. "I can't believe this! Nigel, this isn't like you! Normally, you'd jump at a huge rescue like this! You're always open to those opportunities! You never say no!"

Then, a thought hit her. The man was always eager on a new mission, even if it meant rescuing a famous creature from the past and putting his own life in danger. Nigel refusing like this meant that something else was happening. Hazel was among the employees in the park that had no knowledge of the budget situation. Naturally, she wanted to know what was happening. Putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward to him, she gave him a owlish look.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" she demanded.

The head of the park felt himself backing into a corner. His youngest recruit demanding the whole truth was making his mind race with so many responses. Hazel finding out about the situation like this was just too early. He wanted to tell her only if there were no other solutions...or if she had one herself. But at the moment, she was still recovering from her recent bout against the _Iguanodon_ named Nero and was busy helping to get the herd acclimated to life in the park. Something like this should not be part of her worries.

"Hazel, I'm not keeping anything," he lied.

The girl let out a sly chuckle, which he could tell was mixed with a hint of suspicion. "Oh ho, no. Don't give me that! I know you're hiding something! It's got something to do with the park, doesn't it?"

Nigel gulped as he stared into those intense brown eyes. "Yes...um...no...maybe? Look Hazel, I'm just working on something that shouldn't be shared with anyone else, alright? I'm trying to solve a little issue, but it's nothing that the rest of the park should know. Everything's fine, don't worry about it."

"Worry about WHAT!?" Hazel forcefully ordered. "NIGEL, YOU'RE KEEPING SOMETHING FROM ME AND EVERYONE AT THE PARK! WHATEVER IT IS, I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT NOW!"

The zoologist stared at her for a few moments before letting out a defeated sigh. He was about to tell her a white lie about the park, something about a small project he and Marcus are working on, in order to satisfy her demand. Thankfully, he didn't have to. His radio next to him rang to life...but brought ill news.

" _JULIE TO EVERYONE IN THE PARK! WE HAVE A MAJOR SITUATION HERE! DIABLO HAS ESCAPED HIS ENCLOSURE! I REPEAT! DIABLO HAS ESCAPED HIS ENCLOSURE! THIS IS A CODE RED!"_

Nigel and Hazel's mouths fell open in utter shock. No one said a word after that. In fact, none of them could even fathom what they had just heard. The fact that one of the Residents broke out of their enclosure was bad. The Resident being the bad-tempered Diablo was even worse.

Both of them looked at each other and then back at the radio when Marcus' voice came in, albeit tepidly.

" _Uh Julie, could you say that one more time? I could've sworn you said something crazy. Did you just say Diablo had escaped?"_

" _Sir, I meant every word I said!"_ the engineering assistant replied.

Nigel's lower lip began to quiver and his left eye twitched. The last time a breakout like this happened was just a few years ago and involved a stowaway _Troodon_ scaring a whole herd of _Borealosaurus_. The carnage that followed came from that titanosaur accidentally breaking into the other enclosures in a fright, including Matilda's. That was a small carnivore, but a large carnivore like Diablo breaking out of his enclosure spelled almost certain doom for the park.

"Oh this is not good…" he muttered.

A curse flowed from the engineer's mouth on the other side followed by a rant. _"WHAT THE HELL!? The Barrier Poles we put up in the enclosures in the Park are state of the art! How could that Demon BUST OUT!? Did someone crash their jeep into his Security Generator!?"_

" _Sir, there was no one around! Me and a few keepers came to his enclosure when we heard the roars in the area_!"

Both Nigel and Hazel gasped. Nobody in the park would have the nerve to release Diablo, unless they wanted to kill everyone and get themselves fired. No one was that stupid or cold-hearted. The head zoologist was about to grab the black walkie talkie and ask about what happened when Marcus beat him to it.

" _Julie, how did Diablo escape?"_

A scream followed by the sounds of wood and metal being broken erupted from the radio. A roar sounded from a few miles from their position. The bellow sounded like an animal in a rage, bent on destroying everything. Hazel recognized this sound, for she had encountered it a number of times last year. That roar definitely came from Diablo.

" _Something...smashed the security generator! It's as if it's been flattened to the ground! It wasn't us because none of the keepers were around and all of our vehicles were accounted for."_

It was at that point Hazel heard enough. The security generators around the park were the only things that powered the Perimeter Collars. If anything happened to them, then breakouts would happen. Now that fear had come true. She turned away from the desk and bolted for the bridge. Flia was just waiting a few hundred feet from them on one of the open platforms near one of the rope bridges. The girl could just make it to her within two minutes if she sprinted. At least, she was about to do that when Nigel stopped her.

"Hazel wait! What do you think you're doing!?"

She turned around with an incredulous expression. She was just about a quarter into the roofed walkway. Nigel stopping her from preventing a rampaging _Carnotaurus_ from destroying the park was not only out of the blue, but also just plain stupid on his part.

"Stopping a raging super carnivore from turning this place into the next set of Jurassic Park! Why? You planning on stopping me!?" her eyes glowed with anger.

"No," he simply replied. He went under his desk, nearly disappearing from view. Hazel had no idea what he was thinking, hiding like this. The man's disappearance only lasted a moment though. He got back up and slammed a jet black tranquilizer rifle onto his desk. Nigel then retreated from his seat, making the chair roll behind him, impacting the map stand with a slam. He threw the weapon to her vertically, which she caught with her left hand. The leather strap dangled from off to the side a little then relaxed. "You're going to need this."

He then returned to his desk and went under again, this time to retrieve another tranquilizer rifle that he hid. "That thing's loaded with five darts. Those things pack enough chemicals to knock out at least three full grown elephants combined. Should be enough for a behemoth like Diablo."

"Thanks Nigel," she nodded and hoisted the strap over her shoulder. "But what about you?"

"I'll help everyone else with gathering up any Residents that thing's chased off. Hazel, the herd needs to be warned. You think you and your friends can handle another round with that predator?"

She let out a huff and a hint of a cocky smile. "Of course. That guy doesn't stand a chance against a whole herd. We beat him before, we can do it again."

The man shot a smile at her before digging into one of the drawers in his desk. He brought out a small silver case and opened it. Hazel could only watch as he took out the feathered darts from within and filled them with the chemicals from a vial via a syringe.

"Good. Now go. If you keep dawdling about, that demon dinosaur will just break into another enclosure…"

The girl only glanced at him for another moment before darting through the bridge in the other direction. Nigel watched her go with hopeful, yet sad eyes. In his heart, he knew she could do it. She fought against Diablo before with the help of her friends. But in his mind, he worried about her. She was going up against a predator that was at least the size of a _Giganotosaurus_. He also worried about everyone's safety...and of the park's. All the destruction that monster is creating will only add onto the budget in the form of repairs. And that meant thousands of dollars worth of damage.

In short, Diablo's breakout only worsened everything.

"I hope the park makes it through this...or this place will face extinction; either by the hands of humans or a prehistoric devil dinosaur."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Near Nigel's Den…

Flia's mind was racing. Just a few minutes ago, she was calmly waiting for her friend Hazel to return from her meeting just to get permission to go on another mission. She still wore the saddle Hazel strapped onto her earlier that day. Although it was uncomfortable on parts of her body, just like last time, it was something she still needed to get used to. Perched at a wooden landing situated just in front of the middle of one of the bridges, she looked completely out of place. A large pterosaur like her in a forested area alone was completely different. The trees that surrounded the whole setting looked too tall to try to avoid if she were to leap off. Though she could jump and avoid the tops completely with ease. That was what she wanted to do at the moment so that she could investigate the disturbance.

The roar she heard was something the pterosaur remembered sharply. That frequency, the guttural pitch, and the echo that followed. A shiver went down her spine as she thought back to last year, when the herd was cornered by a certain horned predator.

In her mind, she thought about why that demon known as Diablo made that sound. Was he angry about something? Did he hurt someone when they got too close? Or was it something...worse?

Flia did her best to school herself and calm her emotions. _"No, this can't be right. Hazel said everyone here had that beast under control. There was no way he could harm anyone so long as he was in his prison. Everything's fine…"_

Unfortunately for the _Pteranodon_ , her fear came true in the form of Hazel running up to her from off to her left.

"Flia! We've got a problem!" the human gasped and stopped right before her. She observed the smaller creature wearing the hooded T-shirt bend down and grasp her knees, gasping for breath.

"What?" she inquired. "What is it?"

"Diablo's escaped!" Hazel screamed, giving her a terrified look.

Flia's eyes lit up in realization. The roar she heard was not one of anger, but one of victory. One of the herd's enemies has escaped his confines, and there was a large chance he was after them.

Thoughts of betrayal and deceit coursed through her. She did not know whether she should be angry at Hazel and the other keepers for not keeping Diablo under control, or whether to think that the creature breaking out was inevitable. Either way, the herd needed to be warned...and Flia felt absolutely distraught.

"WHAT!?" she squawked. "Hazel, I thought you said that thing was under control! You said that his enclosure would prevent him from escaping!"

The human slapped her hands on her hips. "Well yeah I said that! And it's true! The walls in his enclosure along with the perimeter collar on his leg prevented him from escaping! But it turns out, someone or something got through that and helped him out!"

The sky scout's beak fell open. Diablo had help? Who would help a monster such as him? All he would do is cause destruction and slaughter anyone in his way! Flia wanted to know the full story, and demanded it from her best friend.

"Hazel, how did you know about this?"

"One of the other staff members radioed me and Nigel about it. She said that no one was near Diablo, human or Resident. But apparently, something large trashed his security generator! It wasn't any of the keepers because no one was around him at the time. So it had to have been something else!"

Although Flia had no idea what a security generator was, she got the gist of her explanation. She was relieved to hear that Hazel and the rest of the humans were not at fault, but she was still concerned that something had allowed him to escape. Flia straightened her back to make herself look taller than the little human female, giving her a more intimidating posture on the situation at hand.

"Then what caused this...security generator...to break?" Flia questioned her hesitantly while trying to mouth that new term.

"I don't know, but whatever it was-"

Hazel was then interrupted by a fanfare coming from behind her. The girl perked her head up then looked over at her back pocket. The feel of her phone vibrating tickled her and the sounds of the Jurassic Park theme song blasted from the little box. Flia, although still very curious on the rectangular object the woman always carried with her, watched as she retrieved the purple device from her pocket.

Hazel looked at the screen and noticed the name Marcus Rey plastered over his profile picture. In the picture, he was sitting on his orange ATV, his hands on both of the handles. He wore his favorite Iron Man T-shirt along with some partially ripped denim jeans. His shoes were dirtied into a light shade of brown from moving around so much during the day.

She pressed the green call button on her phone then put it against her right ear. "Yes Marcus?"

Moments of silence passed on their side. Hazel's eyes furrowed at the quickness of the head engineer's voice. To her, it sounded like he was screaming about something. She could not make out what he was saying because of the amount of stress she deduced he was going through. No doubt it was about Diablo breaking out.

"Marcus, slow down. What are you saying?"

Another moment of silence. This time, the response was a lot quicker and clearer.

"Flia, why?" Hazel replied. The _Pteranodon's_ interest piqued even more on the subject being discussed between her and Marcus with the mention of her name. "Yeah okay sure."

Hazel pulled the phone away from her then pressed a certain button on the object. At first, nothing happened. Flia looked at the object curiously for any change that would happen when she did that. Her answer came in the form of Marcus' voice, this time louder. The scout gasped and took a few steps back from the sudden sound. It was so loud and peculiar that she thought he was trapped within the thing.

" _Flia, can you hear me?"_ Marcus asked her.

The _Pteranodon_ eyed the phone and then at Hazel. The girl gave her a reassuring nod, telling her that everything was fine. Flia then looked back at the object in the girl's hands and spoke to it.

"Um...loud and clear? Marcus, how are you talking to us through that small thing in Hazel's hands? I can't see you, yet I can hear you clearly?" Flia observed the object all over the place, from the bottom, to the top of the screen, to even the small width in between.

" _It's a phone Flia. We humans use stuff like to communicate with each other from long distances. Look, that's not the point now!_ " he explained then quickly changed the topic. " _Are you two aware of what's happened?_ "

Hazel nodded. "Yeah, we know. A certain horned predatory freak with a bad attitude just busted out. Why?"

" _Okay because I know how he broke out, thanks to me having access to our security cameras_."

Both human and _Pteranodon_ glanced at each other in complete surprise before returning back to the phone. Hazel was well-aware of Marcus' access to the cameras around the park. Being the head engineer, he would need that commodity in order to determine areas that need more mechanical attention or just what was going in each area of the park. So naturally, he would want to know what went down by looking at the footage. Flia, on the other hand, had no idea what to make of these...security cameras. She just looked on to the purple box with more confusion than before.

"Well what happened? Who let Diablo out!?" Hazel shrieked, demanding an answer. She desperately wanted to know the full story now. After all, the longer they waited, the closer Diablo would get to the herd in the Valley sector.

" _I'll give you a clue_ ," Marcus started after letting out an exasperated sigh. " _What's big, green, and could fight pretty much anyone in the park on a bad day?_ "

Hazel and Flia's mouths fell open. The answer to that question was a dead ringer. While the identity of Diablo's new "ally" was a shocker, it was the fact that he helped a creature like him that really hit them. The identity revelation answered one part of the question, now it was on why he did it. Both of them wanted to know, and they felt the same way too.

"You mean Nero?" the human cried out. "That big, freaking asshole that keeps causing so many problems for everybody!?" At this point, Hazel wanted nothing more than to deliver some well-deserved punishment to him. In fact, she thought back to the threat she gave Diablo weeks ago before she left on her return trip to the Nesting Grounds. Sending Nero back to the Permian Extinction as punishment for endangering everyone in the valley was the only thing she thought of now.

"Is that dick still trying to make us all look bad!?" she wailed out the rhetorical question.

"But why would he do this!? Why would he betray the herd?" Flia questioned towards the phone.

" _My guess is he released Diablo just so he could get rid of everybody to get what he wanted. Specifically towards Aladar and you, Hazel,"_ he replied, referring to the pissed off girl that was now breathing hard. She was doing her best to hold in her rage, but her attempt only went so far.

"Damn son of a bitch! I'm going to kill him!" she screamed out in rage and facepalmed.

"Marcus, how did you witness this again?" Flia went next, wanting to know how exactly he came about this information.

Her reply came not a moment too soon. " _The security cameras. I've got access to them so that I get to see which areas of the park need an engineer's assistance. It's so that we get to see what's going on without having to go there ourselves unless it's needed. Basically we use these box-shaped objects that record...oh forget it! You two need to go and warn the herd of what's happening!_ " he explained at first then resorted to telling two of his friends to warn Diablo's primary targets.

Hazel relaxed her hand and then brought the phone closer to her so that she could scream into it. "Uh yeah, we were about to do that! But what about Diablo?"

" _I'm getting to that!"_ the engineer hollered back. " _Get the herd to the very edge of the park borders. I've already told anyone with a stun gun to open fire at Diablo. They won't put him down, but at least they'll buy anyone with a tranquilizer gun enough time to get to him. That should buy you along with the herd enough time to escape!"_

The girl shook her head in disagreement. She knew that the weapons could only do so much to a massive animal like that. The only reason why Diablo was able to back down last time was because of the collar on his leg coupled with the amount of volts going through his body from the stun guns. In fact, those things would only piss him off even more. And even if any keepers with tranquilizer guns arrived, Diablo would just keep rampaging on or just attack them before they got a clear shot at him.

"Marcus, even if we run, our efforts would only piss him off!" she argued. Recalling her last battle against him 65 million years ago atop a cliff in a canyon, she told him her argument. "He'll attack anyone he sees! That guy's not going to stop until he gets what he wants. Believe me, I know!"

Both she and Flia could hear Marcus let out a cry of frustration, making them jump a little. " _Well then, do you have any better ideas!?"_

Suddenly, a radio crackled over on Marcus' side of the conversation. Hazel heard a few clicks indicating the man retrieving his radio and answering whoever was calling. Both she and Flia were surprised to hear a different voice on that line. The identity of the caller was one Hazel knew all too well, and they could hear her loud and clear.

" _Marcus are you there? It's Suzanne. I need you to stop by the Vet center and help me with some Residents in critical condition_." Hazel was confused at the odd request during the park's state of peril; and she could imagine the look of puzzlement on Marcus's face as well.

" _Suzy? I know that I'm pretty awesome at almost everything I do, but I fix machines, not animals_."

The head veterinarian's annoyed sigh was audible from the radio. " _Just get here NOW!"_

" _Right, right! Got it! Hazel._ " The engineer getting the young keeper's attention again. She heard the clicks of the radio turning off along with a thud, meaning that he put the radio down. " _Just get to the Herd Grounds and make every second count._ " Marcus's signal became silent, meaning the end of the call.

Hazel put her phone on standby. She did not bother to look at the disappearance of Marcus' profile picture nor the return to the startup screen with the time. All she did was put her phone away back into where it came from.

The Asian looked down in doubt. There really wasn't much of a contingency plan should the keepers fail to stop any Resident from breaking out except for tranquilizing them. But with a beast like Diablo...things were not looking up at all. Hazel did not have enough time to plan this; in fact, time was against her now. She stared into the wooden platform that was lifted from the ground by some support beams. As she tried to think of a better plan, she analyzed each and every line and knob on the double-reinforced wooden rack. Her mind wandered around any leads to defeat Diablo, while she looked like she was going crazy in front of the pterosaur by zoning out.

Flia jerked her head to her fellow partner with a serious face. "Hazel, we have to move now! Diablo's getting closer to the herd. They must be warned!"

Hazel moved her head slightly to her before returning to its original position. She did not even bother to look at her, but Flia could see that she was in deep stress. "Give me a minute! I'm thinking!"

The _Pteranodon_ lifted her wings up and performed some quick gestures with them. First it was both wings towards the sky, then over in the direction of the tree line. "We don't have much time! Hazel, we have to go now!"

The woman gave her a scolding look for interrupting her deep thinking. In her mind, she mulled about the facts on capturing Diablo. The stun guns they had would stall him, but not for very long. In fact, they would only make him angrier. Anyone with a tranquilizer gun would have trouble with the Carnotaur because of two factors; his immense size would delay the effects of the drugs from taking place and his ferocity towards anything that moves would prevent anyone from getting a good shot. In short, he was pretty much the equivalent of a bull elephant in musth, only at least three times bigger.

She let out a sigh and put her index finger and thumb onto the top of her nose ridge. She squeezed it gently in an effort to ease the tension in that part of her head. The stress that arose from her verbal battle towards Nigel to rescue an _Allosaurus_ plus the problem of the new breakout was causing a headache to develop.

Right now, Hazel was at a loss. Ordinary weapons weren't going to cut it. By the time Diablo reached the Valley sector, the whole herd would be on the menu. Even if they do put up a fight, that guy won't stop until he gets his revenge.

As Hazel got situated onto Flia's back, the duo took to the skies. Darting through the air as fast as the pterosaur could, the young woman's thoughts drifted back to the escaped _Carnotaurus_. While Diablo's very presence being outside was cause for concern, Hazel noticed something odd about his escape. Diablo's enclosure, while a distance away from the Herd Grounds, did not take too much of a commute to get to, especially if the bloodthirsty carnivore's rage was genuine. It took roughly 20 minute to get there, maybe half that time if Diablo was sprinting there.

Hazel listened intently for any report of the horned predator making an appearance at the Herd Grounds. Instead, all she heard was the chaotic chatter on the radios from other keepers they passed. With Residents on the loose again, every keeper was frantically trying to restore order to Prehistoric Park and were not too clear over the radio chatter. From what she DID hear about the _Carnotaurus_ was that he was zigzagging through the park in an almost random manner.

' _It makes no sense!_ ' Hazel reflected as she and her partner darted over the Vet Center. ' _Diablo is now free to try and kill Aladar, my friends, and the Herd. All he has to do is to get there, and he'll be there in less than 15 minutes. So WHY isn't he ther—_ '

" _HAZEL-TWO LEGS! FLIA-BIG WINGS!_ " Screeched a familiar, yet out of place voice.

Coming up on their right side was Twitch, who despite managing to reach Hazel and Flia's altitude, was struggling to stay airborne. The present's oxygen level compared to his era was extremely thin for the normally speedy dragonfly. Twitch's wings would beat just as strong as he normally would fly, but he would lapse into moments of misfired flutters when he struggled for his next breath. Even though his life was on the line, he was a _Meganeura_ on a mission.

" _HAZEL-TWO LEGS! TWITCH… AND BUGS… Be needings… helps…"_ The giant dragonfly reached his limit as his body gave out from the thin air and fainted, halting his powerful wings in mid beat. With Twitch's sudden blackout, he proceeded to tumble out of the sky; his chitin body rapidly falling to the earth like a bag of rocks. Hazel's eyes widened in fear as the park's _Meganeura_ continued to free-fall.

"TWITCH!" Snapping her eyes to meet her partner, Hazel held Flia's saddle holds in a vice. "Flia—!"

"On it!" The purple hued _Pteranodon_ folded her wings in and swiftly dove after the falling Resident.

The wind whistled swiftly through Hazel's hair as extended her left hand forward, desperately reaching for Twitch's inert form. Through the sky, the flight duo was slowly making their way towards the _Meganeura_ , Flia's expert flying in full display. But with every inch they gained on Twitch's freefalling form, the distance to the ground closed just as fast. If they couldn't reach Twitch in time, his frail exoskeleton would shatter like an egg. And even if they did reach him in time, the same result could happen to the human girl and Flia if they couldn't recover from their sudden dive-bomb.

' _Almost… Almost…_ ' Hazel was concentrating on extending her reach as far as she physically could, ignoring the sight of the earth rushing up to meet them. Just as they were 30 feet from the ground, Hazel finally grasped the unconscious dragonfly's tail. Grinning in brief victory, the young woman swiftly pulled Twitch in and gently braced him against her chest. Her victory was immediately curbed as her eyes widened at the EXTREMELY short distance they were to ground level.

Hazel shrieked in fear as her free hand gripped her partner's saddle in a vice. "FLIA, PULL UP! PULL UP NOW!"

At a mere 15 feet, the sky-scout quickly flared her wings out. The sudden force of her wings making her body decelerating against the air caused Flia to grunt in pain. Trying to recover from her dive, the pterosaur angled her body upwards to achieve lift once again; Hazel assisting as much as she could by pulling back on the saddle's hold and leaning back. By some miracle, the _Pteranodon_ recovered from nearly kissing the ground beak first and rose back into the air. With her wings strained from the sudden exertion, Flia was now gliding just above a canopy of trees. With the sudden danger now behind them, the purple pterosaur looked back to her passengers.

"Are you two okay?" Asked Flia, as she took in her partner's paler than usual face. She noticed the keeper's hand still clenched her saddle's hold, her knuckles white from the death grip of the young Asian. Even though Hazel was pretty sure she saw her life flash before her eyes, she was right now focusing her attention on the inert _Meganeura_ in her arms. Even with his insect features, the young keeper could tell he wasn't looking too good. The dragonfly's legs were twitching at random intervals and he weakly chittered in his unconscious state; Hazel could pick up only a few words of the Carboniferous Bug's broken speech, words like " _Helps Bugs…"_ or " _Warns… Hazel-Two Legs…_ ".

"I'm alright Flia," the girl finally spoke up and greeting her friend's eye with a grim look, "but Twitch looks about two seconds away from keeling over."

"How did he even get here? I thought he and the rest of the Bugs lived in that greenhouse thing."

Hazel grimaced as she looked back to her delirious patient again. " I don't know. But we got to get him to Suzanne's clinic. I don't know how long he's been out here, but he's suffering from oxygen deprivation."

Despite not wanting to take a detour, Flia understood the severity of the Bug's condition. With some instruction from Hazel, the sky-scout found Suzanne's Clinic; the red cross symbol being a familiar sight for future reference if they needed to use the facility again. Before she could fully land on the ground, Hazel expertly slipped off the saddle and striding towards the doors of the animal clinic with her ailing patient in her arms; Flia right on her heels. As the duo burst through the doors into the clinic, the pterosaur stopped in her tracks at the strangeness inside the building. Hazel, still looking over her delirious patient, continued into the room unheeded.

"Suzanne, I need help! Twitch somehow got outside of the Bughouse and need medical attention RIGHT NO… what the?" With Hazel's attention solely on Twitch, she was stunned when she finally noticed her surroundings.

In the center of Suzanne's clinic was a plastic see through quarantine tent. Inside the quick-deployed structure was Suzanne outfitted with her own oxygen mask so she could swiftly work on her two ailing patients without feeling dizzy from the rapidly changing environment. Marcus was busy strapping together multiple oxygen tanks to a hose leading to a quarantine tent, dashing around to structure to patch holes leaking air, and typing on a console attached to the tent; monitoring the oxygen levels to get it just right. In the center of the temporary structure were the two inert forms of Ben and Scorpio.

Hazel never thought she would ever see the angry scorpion look so sedated and lifeless than she did at that moment. Scorpio just laid there limply as Suzanne flexed each of the _Pulmonoscorpius_ limbs and stinger-tail; checking her for injuries. The giant scorpion brandished her claws in an attempt to look threatening, but her exhaustion was evident in the lethargic display.

Ben looked slightly better despite the circumstances. He was rearing up slightly and shifted his sights to follow the head vet dashing back and forth between himself and his petite housemate. From what Hazel could hear through the plastic walls, Ben was rapidly chittering to Suzanne, asking about the whereabouts of "Twitch-Buzzer Wings and Hazel-Two Legs". Even though the veterinarian had Marcus's prototype Communicator dish propped up in the corner, she didn't spend enough time with any of the Carboniferous Bugs to understand the Bugs' broken English properly. She was assuring Ben that everything would be fine, not fully grasping the urgency in the mega-arthropod's near lethargic tone.

"Ben? Ben, look at me. Everything is going to be fine. I just need to check your exoskeleton for any breaks." Suzanne soothingly said, as she was brushing her fingers along his chitinous shell for damage.

" **No, no, NO, Suzanne-Mender! Ben is needs to be talk-speaking of Resident-Neighbors skitter-fleeings in Park-Home!** " The _Arthoplerua_ chittered, Ben's bass-like voice managing to convey his irritation. As Suzanne tried to interpret the slow-talking Bug's fractured words, Ben glanced up and caught Hazel in his gaze and Twitch's unconscious form. " **HAZEL-TWO LEGS! Thanksing First-Spawner that Twitch-Buzzer Wings Search-Founds you! Is Twitch-Buzzer Wings is being okay?** "

Ben's sudden exaltations caused Marcus and Suzanne to turn to the young keeper, finally noticing her presence.

Finally snapping out of her momentary pause, she proceeded to rush to the tent's zipper door to help her oxygen deprived dragonfly friend. She had her fingers around the zipper as she proceeded to open the door. "Yeah, Ben. He's fine for now, but I'm not sure how long he's been like thi—"

"Wait, wait, WAIT! Don't open the do—!" Marcus's warning came too late as the young girl fully unzipped the tent. Hazel was met with a sudden blast of concentrated oxygen rushing out of the tent opening.

The unexpected blast of air caused the human keeper to gasp in surprise, which was a detriment to her as she inhaled the high levels of oxygen at that moment. The rushing Carboniferous-like environment made her extremely lightheaded in that second, making her feel a sudden bout of vertigo. Flia was luckily not in the forefront of the escaping air, but she was instantly worried about her partner's sudden airsickness. The only reason she wasn't at her side in that second was because Hazel waved her off and told her that she was fine at the moment. Ignoring both Suzanne and Marcus's pleas for her to be properly suited in the tent, Hazel swiftly zipped the quarantine tent to a close and proceeded to get Twitch to the examiner's table, swaying dizzily as her body tried to adjust to the jarring environmental shift.

As Hazel continued to stumble to where Suzanne and the other Carboniferous Bugs were, Twitch immediately began to perk up. Entering the oxygen-enriched tent roused him from his slumber as he began to become more alert in his surroundings. Which was fortunate because in her drunken stumble, Hazel tripped on some cords on the floor, making her almost fall to the ground. Twitch managed to gain enough consciousness to quickly dart out of the flailing girl's arms as she fell like a tree. The only reason Hazel didn't face-plant on the floor was because Suzanne met her half way and caught her before she could collapse. She quickly gave Hazel her oxygen mask to help her adjust to the sudden vertigo.

"Hazel what were you thinking?! The sudden shift in oxygen would make your body halt your blood flow to your brain and make you faint. Any longer and you could wind up dead!" As Suzanne doted on the girl's blunder, Hazel assured her that she was fine and struggled to her feet to get to the recently revived Bugs.

She went up to Ben, who was currently checking over his recently rescued dragonfly friend with Scorpio who was now more alert as well, to question him. Hazel took a few more breaths from the human level oxygen mask before she spoke.

"Okay Ben," the young woman started as she handed the oxygen mask back to Suzanne once she was less lightheaded, "can you tell me how and why you guys are outside of the Bughouse? It's not safe outside with our low air levels, AND there is another breakout happening! You guys might have been crushed underfoot if one of the Residents stumbled across you in the confusion."

Ben let out an annoyed chitter as his mandibles snapped in irritation. " **Ben and Bugs is be haves no choosing to skitter-flee Jungle-Home! Fire is eat Jungle-Home!** "

This almost caused Hazel to gasp in surprise, but she then remembered what happened last time she took a sharp intake of breath in this environment. She requested to take a few breaths from Suzanne's mask before continuing.

"How did the Bughouse burn down? I thought we made sure that nothing causing a spark should be present there?" Hazel asked, expertly interpreting the man-sized millipede's strange speech pattern; ignoring the astonished looks she received from the head vet and engineer.

" **Resident-Neighbors is being frighten-scared,** " the mega-arthropod picking up where he left off, " **Resident-Neighbors skitter-fleeings in swarm-group by Red Horn-Monster!** "

"Diablo did this!" The Asian girl knew that the _Carnotaurus_ was a jerk, but she didn't think he would result to such extremes. Ben only nodded his chitin-clad head.

" **Red Horn-Monster is chase-skittering Resident-Neighbors to new Scaled-Legs' field-home.** "

"This doesn't make any sense!" Hazel exclaimed as was walked out of the oxygen rich tent by Suzanne to get to a human friendly environment; the Bugs following from their side of the transparent wall. "Diablo has a grudge against Aladar and the Herd, not the Residents!"

Flia looked a little offended by her partner's blunt statement. "What the heck do you mean by that?! The Herd is NOT lesser to your Residents Hazel! They would all fall under Diablo's hatred. He's just a mindless killer!"

Shaking her head, Hazel quickly retorted, "No Flia, that's not what I meant! What I mean is now that Diablo is free, why is he not just carving a path of blood straight towards the Herd Grounds? That bastard is smarter than he lets on. His enclosure isn't that far away. If he wanted to, he could have reached the Herd in 10 minutes. But he's taking his time, scaring everyone into fleeing from him!"

A multitasking engineer was the one to quickly think up the answer.

"Well isn't it obvious?" Marcus's rhetoric was met with blank stares. "Hmm, okay maybe not. Anyways! Like you said Kid, Diablo isn't a moron. The Horn-headed fucker probably wants to rip everyone to teeny-tiny pieces, limb from limb, down to the last—!"

"MARCUS!" Hazel yelled to get him back on track. "Get the to point!"

"Right sorry…" The engineer took a deep breath before getting to the meat of his thoughts. "Diablo already knows he can't win in a straight up fight. You and your friends proved that. So think about it! You're an angry Carnotaur with a MASSIVE chip on your shoulder facing a healthy herd of prey items that stood against you in the past. So how would you make sure that the prey you faced before couldn't unify and defeat you again?"

"By… breaking it up?" Hazel's answer came out as a guess, not entirely grasping Marcus's train of thought.

"So HOW would he do that? As completely goddamn terrifying Diablo is, he is just ONE guy."

Just as Hazel was about to scream in frustration at the engineer's roundabout hypotheticals, Suzanne quickly deduced the answer herself.

"He's using the Residents…" The vet's near whispered answer almost caused her to miss what she said. Suzanne spoke louder as she elaborated. "Diablo knows that he can't break up Aladar's Herd by himself, so he's driving our Residents into a panicked frenzy straight towards the Herd Grounds. All that chaos amongst the animals in the valley would disrupt any semblance of unity that Aladar did before. Diablo would just need to wait patiently as the Residents injure and hurt the herd and themselves, letting him able to pick and choose his targets at his leisure."

Hazel could only gape at the severity of the plan the theropod arranged. Was his rage so intense that he would incite a stampede just to get back at Aladar? The more she thought about it, the more it seemed likely. Diablo was in pain from the soul shattering death of his mate. And the ones responsible for her death were in the Park. Hazel herself wasn't sure how far she would go if she were in the Carnotaur's situation, but she would more than likely be just as hostile if someone close to her died and the one responsible was essentially right in front of her.

Her mind was stressed at the revelation, as she paced in contemplation. They needed a new plan. What they need was something strong enough to take him on. Something that can take so much punishment and still keep walking. Martha was a good option, but she would most likely be busy with getting Mikiya and the other kids away. Aladar and Neera were out of the question. They needed to protect the herd and get them to safety. The _Elasmotherium_ she called "Big Guy" was a definite no; he wouldn't dare help anyone unless it was for himself. Not only that, but he'd most likely run anyone down with his large horn. Irwin sounded like a good idea, but his speed would be outmatched and was at a size disadvantage when it came to height. Diablo could just dig his teeth into him with a single downward strike from his jaw. Yin and the rest of her group weren't fighters, in fact, they were like Baylene where they would avoid fights at all costs. Bruno and his tribe of _Therizinosaurus_ were too uncontrollable.

The park needed the perfect reinforcements. Ones that would not dare turn their backs on their allies. Ones that are strong enough to defeat Diablo. Ones that are willing to do anything for a goal they were after or for any incentive. What they needed was…

Hazel's eyes lit up in stark realization. She had just thought of a brilliant plan to counteract the _Carnotaurus'_ madness. The best way to defeat him would be to get something just as large, or nearly as large, as Diablo, and just as ferocious. The plan was simple, however there remained the problem of preparing it. Flia needed to return to the Valley sector to help protect the herd. Hazel also needed an engineer like Marcus with her to operate the mechanics.

Seeing no other better option than that, she turned to the engineer and spoke, "Marcus, I've got a plan. But I'm going to need you on this."

"All ears Hazel," was his response.

Hazel smirked at that answer. "Good. I need your help with something in the west side of the park. Bring your tool kit!"

"WHAT!?" Marcus exclaimed, hurting everyone's ears. "But that's-!"

The girl interrupted him and put her free hand up in an apologetic gesture. "I know. That's in the other direction of the Valley."

"Hazel, what are you thinking!?" Flia shrieked at her, causing the girl to jump. "That's far away from the Herd!"

"Yeah, I'm aware of that! Don't worry about me, just get back to the Herd. They're in danger," she answered back briskly before returning her focus on Marcus. "Just trust me on this."

The pterosaur stared at her with slight bewilderment at the lack of real reasoning. However, if she has a plan to solve this mess, then who was she to judge. After all, she did help the herd escape destruction before. This human could do it again. The only difference was she was not withholding any huge secrets, save for whatever this plan was. Flia could only give her a resigned nod as an answer. In her mind, she hoped this plan would work.

"Hazel, what's the point of going towards that way? And what's this so called master plan of yours?" the engineer inquired, fingering his goggles in an attempt to relieve the stress of the entire situation.

"I'll fill you in on the details on the way there. Right now, we have to move," she told him.

"Well we better get a move on! I don't want to think of what he's doing now!" Marcus warned before rushing out to prepare his ATV.

Hazel bid Suzanne and the Bugs farewell as they sprinted outside. The girl then turned to her best friend and unfastened the straps to her saddle, which fell to the ground.

"Flia, I need you to fly ahead and buy us some time. Stall Diablo until we can put my plan in action." Without saying a word, the _Pteranodon_ nodded and took off to the sky. The little human was slightly pushed back by the flap of her partner's powerful wings of her take off.

Their mission had begun. The outcome of Hazel's mysterious plan would decide the fate of everyone in the park. Everyone's lives hinged on its success.

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On route to T-Rex Hill…

Hazel was gripping tightly onto Marcus's back. She found it odd that she was more comfortable flying with Flia thousands of feet in the air, yet driving in an ATV is what made her nervous. Marcus was making his way west, weaving through the wreckage of Diablo's stampede or dodging stray _Ornithomimus_ that weren't in the main chunk of the Flock running for their live.

Marcus turned his head while keeping his eyes on the road to address his passenger. "Ok Veran. What's the plan here? You still haven't told me."

"Just get us to T-Rex Hill as fast as you can." She told the engineer over the rumble of his motor-bike.

Marcus went bug-eyed at the girl's request. "Wait what? Why?"

"Just do it!" Not pressing the issue, Marcus revved his engine once and shot forward even faster, making Hazel yelp and grip onto his back tighter.

Once they reached the Twins' enclosure, Hazel hopped off the quad-cycle and rushed to the Rexes' gate.

"TERRENCE! MATILDA! Get over here! Hurry!" She shouted into the habitat.

Not understanding the logic of the young woman's plan, Marcus ran his hand through his hair in a stressed out manner.

"Hazel why the heck are we in the opposite direction of where we need to be when Diablo's off tearing up the place!? We should be rallying everybody with those stun guns!" He screamed with exasperation. Hazel began to smile slightly as she felt the Twins' footsteps through the earth.

"Hey Marcus?" Hazel started, turning her head slightly in Marcus's direction as the footsteps became louder. "Ever seen the movie _Jurassic World_?"

"Yeah I did. What about it?" Marcus was really confused now. What the heck was she going with this?

"Remember what that kid in the movie said at the climax of the movie?" The engineer was racking his brain to recall that scene in the movie. He was reciting segments of the movie to himself quickly to decipher the Asian girl's meaning.

"Hmm… Raptor fight scene… Indy kicking their asses… Stupid high heeled red-head… kid saying something about—!" The answer hit Marcus like a freight train. "'More Teeth'… Hazel are you insane!? One predator is bad enough, but two more!?"

Why did it seem that everyone Marcus worked with was absolutely insane?

Hazel just shrugged off his insults. "Call me crazy all you like. But right now, more teeth is what we need."

"But who knows what those two will do once they're out! Please kid, you can't be this crazy!"

"That's why I'm here. Now when they get here, I want you to deactivate their poles." Hazel and Marcus stared each other down, their expressions trying to make the other to back down. That was what Terrence and Matilda were witnessing when they came to answer the call of their Big sister figure. Both Cretaceous predators were perplexed at the stare down between the 25-year old tech prodigy and their 20-year old friend.

After several minutes, Marcus was the first one to break the silence. "Are you sure?"

His only answer was a firm nod from the defiant girl.

Groaning in frustration, Marcus whipped out his heavily modified personal smart-phone and began typing furiously for a few moments, cursing in Tagalog under his breath. Just then, the Twins' Perimeter collars clicked and fell off, followed by the gates to T-Rex Hill opening automatically; much to the Rex siblings surprise.

Matilda was the only one able to recover from her shock. "Hazel what's going on?"

The human girl just smirked to the teen Tyrannosauruses.

"How would you two like to not be grounded again AND prove that you guys are the top predator in Prehistoric Park?" Both Rexes nodded eagerly in excitement. Hazel's grin widened. "Good, because I need your help…"

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At the Herd Grounds, Present…

Aladar took a step back in fear. The behemoth before him stared him down as if he were an ant. Every part of his body trembled and his breathing became shaky. The _Iguanodon_ had been in dangerous situations before, a couple of them involved Carnotaurs. However, this one he had encountered numerous times.

With another step back, the predator merely snorted. Before, Aladar felt safe knowing that the humans had the dangerous predators under control. Now, because of Nero's arrogance, one of his worst enemies came back to haunt him. This time, there was no enclosure to keep him in. The fight was once again between them, and there was no one around to help because of the chaos that was happening all around them.

"Hello Aladar," Diablo greeted gingerly but with scorn. "It's been a while…"

The blue-green _Iguanodon_ , now sensing that backing up in fear only made himself that much more cowardly, stood his ground. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at his enemy. The Carnotaur coming here meant that he wanted to get back at the herd. However, because that confrontation was a long time ago, he should have been over it. Apparently, grudges never go out in Diablo's case. Aladar knew that, but he also wanted to see if there was some other ulterior motive to the carnivore creating havoc. "Diablo...why are you doing this? Why are you attacking everyone when we haven't done anything to you?"

Diablo responded by letting out a loud guffaw. "Oh I beg to differ! I'm sure you know why I am doing this. I don't need to say anything."

Aladar stomped his hoof at that answer. The vague response only made him demand the truth even more. "The humans have taken you in, given you a new life, one where you could live in peace. There is no need to hunt any of us. Isn't all that kindness enough for you?"

The crimson devil let out a roar of defiance. "Shut up! Don't talk to me about kindness! And all these humans have done was to prolong my suffering...locking me up in a prison, having to deal with annoying neighbors, having to look at all of their smiles and watch them enjoy life as they please! All of that is just sickening to me!"

He then took a step forward, causing the ornithopod to back up even more. He let out frightened gasps as he did. Turning to the side in an attempt to defend himself should the predator attack, he constantly lifted his right hoof up, thumb spike at the ready.

Aladar then felt something hard against his ribs, causing him to stop and a numbing pain to go through his body due to his recent injuries. He looked over and noticed he bumped into a tree that had branches that spread out at the top like storm clouds, which he figured was some sort of plant from this time. There were no vines, no leaves at the sides, only the ones at the top.

What neither of them knew was that the keepers decided to plant a few acacia trees to serve as markers for the boundary between the Valley Sector and the elephant grounds. They were good additions and were also used to set up the scenery. Not only that, but this served as a good way to help the survival of the tree species due to parts of Africa being turned into farmland or degrading due to landscapes changing.

However, this was no time to marvel at the new vegetation. The predator stomped his beastly foot on the ground, making the dust fly up and the prey to turn his attention back at him.

"And do you know whose fault this is?" he sneered and leaned his head closer to the trembling herbivore until he was a few feet from biting distance. "YOURS ALONG WITH YOUR PATHETIC UNDERLINGS!"

"I don't know what we have done to cause you trouble," Aladar tried to explain as he maneuvered away from the tree. The two circled each other as the conversation went on; not breaking eye contact from each other. "But if this is-"

"You should know!" the _Carnotaurus_ protested against the feeble verbal defense. "All of my pain started that night, in that dark cave where you were cornered!"

Aladar gasped and stopped walking. The mention of the cave made him think back to that very night last year. That was the time when he and his friends sought refuge in a cave after being separated from the herd, only to be found by Diablo and some other companion of his. They escaped with their lives, but at a terrible cost. The roof that collapsed onto the Carnotaurs wasn't just by chance or unstable rocks. That was caused by Bruton, the former second-in-command to Kron.

That night in the cave last year was the night that Bruton died. He sacrificed himself to save everyone. His death was not in vain, for he had managed to kill one of the Carnotaurs. Although he pushed the herd on through the journey like a master would to slaves, he felt remorse for his actions after being left behind. He was a bully turned hero, one that made his choice to protect those around him rather than saving himself.

"The cave...the falling rocks…" the blue-green _Iguanodon_ blurted out as he remembered that time.

"Yes...that's right. Think back to that time. I'm sure you remember I wasn't alone," Diablo explained while staring down at the prey before him. He watched the herbivore reminisce about that very moment, and saw him shudder about that horrible night. The predator enjoyed the sight of it, but at the same time, he too felt uncomfortable, for that night was a tragic one for him. Now that he was before one of the wretches that pained him so, he was able to exact his full wrath on him. "We were given a golden opportunity for a glorious feast, one that would sate our hunger that lasted for countless days. You lot were fleeing for your lives. You were within our grasp! Easy pickings...until that human brat and another of your kind stepped in!"

"You along with your friend were attacking us!" Aladar argued, trying to defend the honor of the fallen lieutenant. "Bruton was helping us escape by dealing with you! That choice cost him his life in the end!"

"We were only doing what we had to in order to survive, just like you leaf suckers traveling through the desert to get to where food was aplenty. Water can sustain us, but it can only go so far. We carnivores cannot eat leaves or grass like you can; we can only survive on meat! And the only source of that...would be any other creature that lives and breathes... Things were easy for us; we would chase down the prey, they would run away, then we take them down and have our fill," Diablo rebuked vehemently.

The herd leader's eyes narrowed at the crimson interloper. There was something about his explanations that weren't clicking. He kept on mentioning another that was with him, the same one that died under that rubble back in the cave. It would make sense for anyone to be so vengeful against another for the death of one they were close to. That was what Diablo sounded like. Aladar wanted to know about his, for he wanted to see why this predator hated him so.

"You keep saying "we". Just who was that other one that was with you?"

The Carnotaur let out a gruff snort. He remained indifferent in the exterior, but deep down, he wanted to just kill his enemy now. It took all in his willpower to not attack, for he wanted his would-be victim to know why he made him this way. "I'm glad you asked that you wretch."

He narrowed his eyes at the _Iguanodon_ and growled before continuing. "You see, that's the other reason why I despise you and any that look up to you, other than making it hard to get an easy meal, twice even! That night was the source of my pain, why I feel this way, and why I hate you...the other that was with me, the one that got crushed under those rocks, was MY MATE!"

It was then that Aladar finally understood why Diablo was this way. The night he and his friends were in the cave, the companion that was with him was one that he was particularly close to. It...SHE wasn't just a close friend to Diablo. She was his mate, his love, and his life. Aladar was not directly responsible for the death of his mate, but he did cause them great annoyance. He helped his friends escape deeper into the cave, eliminating the chance for the Carnotaurs to have an easy meal. He was also their potential prey that got away, and eventually stood up to his enemy by rallying a whole herd to fight against him.

"Diablo, I'm sorry for what happened. I had no idea that was your mate that got buried under that rubble. But I wasn't the one that killed your mate. It was-" Aladar was interrupted by Diablo, now filled with fury.

"Quiet! You along with your friends made me this way!"

"I know what it's like to lose those you care about, believe me! I've lost members of my family last year!" he tried to show sympathy towards the predator as a way to show some common ground and to calm his rage. However, that idea proved to be moot.

"I don't care about your sympathy! This moment is all that matters now...the stampede I created already disrupted your unity. There won't be any "Standing Together" today. And I have you within my reach."

Diablo then gave him a toothy grin and reared his head back, showing his menacing size to the smaller herbivore. "Finally, I've waited a long time for this. Vengeance is MINE!"

Diablo let out a growl before closing in on his target. He drove his head down, jaws open at the ready. The devil's teeth were about to taste blood and warm meat, but only tasted dirt instead. His mouth partially dug into the grass from the attempted attack. The tops of his jaws were in the dirt and his tongue was inadvertently licking the vegetation. Diablo hoisted his head out of the ground and coughed out the disgusting earth.

Turns out Aladar had dodged the attack at the last minute by sidestepping away. He took note of his surroundings and found he was facing the direction towards the lakeshore. The herd and the Residents may be running about nearby and creating a lot of noise, but other than that, this area of the field was not very crowded. It was only when a member of the herd or a few would be running away nearby from a panic stricken Resident that would break the solitude.

Just then, the herd leader heard a primeval hiss coming from the shore, one that slightly overpowered the coughs of Diablo. Looking a little to the right, he saw a long, flat head with reptilian eyes peering at the top of the water surface. The figure lumbered partially onto the shore, revealing a small fraction of his upper, scaled body.

"Oi mate!" Irwin called to him. "Need some help?"

Aladar nodded then noticed his enemy had already recovered as well as ceased his incessant coughing fit. The predator shook his head and readied for another attack.

"Get him close to me!" the prehistoric crocodilian said before slinking back into the water.

The ornithopod knew what he meant. Because they were so close to the lakeshore, Irwin would be able to take on the 40-foot behemoth, but only in his home environment. Aladar could only guess on what the _Deinosuchus_ planned to do once Diablo was in the water. However, he assumed that the croc would not kill their current enemy. The reasons that Hazel spoke of before on rescuing predators rang hard on his ears. Because of that, Aladar figured the semi-aquatic carnivore only planned on subduing the horned on in the lake, thus allowing the other humans to handle him when they arrived.

It was a good plan, one that had its share of risks though. Aladar's wounds from his fight with Nero days ago were still healing. His injuries may have closed over, but they still ached if annoyed. Couple those with the burns from the Fireball and h looked like his body had seen better days. He needed to be careful; otherwise he would be put down for good.

Diablo roared again and charged at the _Iguanodon_. The cerulean one ran up and collided against the underside of the predator. The surprised Carnotaur lurched back at the sudden push and felt his back foot touch a different part of the ground away from its original position. The herd leader bellowed and began stabbing his enemy. Blood oozed out from the sides of the crimson dinosaur's body, creating darker red stripes going down the cream underbelly.

Diablo let out agonizing shrieks. Now angered, he brought his head down and bit on his enemy's posterior end. The result was a pained yell from his victim.

Aladar's body once again screamed. The sensation of the sharp teeth embedding into his skin stung immensely. He wanted so much as to back away from the predator to make him lose his grip. However, doing so was not part of the plan. There was no way he would back away from Diablo, not when he had reinforcements nearby.

Aladar pushed again, this time utilizing more of his strength. The huge predator backed up, moving ever so closely to the water's edge. With each push, the grip on his back tightened. The feel of the teeth digging deeper into his body made him scream even more.

He wanted to stop. He wanted to wriggle free. He wanted to let go of the predator and allow him to do his dirty work, just so the pain on his backside would end. His mind urged him to do that, but he ignored it.

He pushed hard again. Aladar's back feet driving into the ground more forcefully with each push. The alpha male felt his body become even more strained. His vision became a bit clouded from the exertions. But he could clearly see it. The lakeshore was just right there.

One of Diablo's feet crashed into something loose. The sound was light, unlike the hard impact on a ground. It only lasted for a second, but Aladar knew the battle would go to his favor. Diablo had touched the water.

Suddenly, a large form erupted from within the lake water. Diablo released his captor and sharply looked back, only to see an elongated jaw with dagger-like teeth on each side coming at him. The Carnotaur reacted by maneuvering his back away from the incoming crocodilian. He watched as the jaws snapped shut and the sprawled, poised body impacted the ground. Stray water from the _Deinosuchus_ emerging splashed everywhere then calmed. The ripples that were once irregular and wild became thinner and more relaxed before disappearing.

Surprised he missed his mark, Irwin's head was pinned on the ground by the beast's 3-toed left foot.

"Ow!" Irwin cried out, even though his mouth was muffled.

A bellow sounded off from near the predator. He diverted his attention from the giant reptile to his right. Aladar, now free from Diablo's hold and mostly recovered from his struggle to push his enemy into the water, charged in for an attack.

The red behemoth released Irwin's snout and placed his foot back. Once the blue-green herbivore was within reach, the Carnotaur swung his tail at his smaller foe. The impact from the swipe hit him on the side and sent the _Iguanodon_ flying a few feet away. His release of the croc allowed the reptile to slink back into the water, no doubt to allow his nose to recover from the stomp attack.

Aladar landed with a grunt on his side. Hot, searing pain ran fresh through his body, especially at his posterior end. His new bite marks had small drops of blood falling down from the injury. The bite mark was a semi-circle with lines that were dotted and spanned a large fraction of his back region. It was a good thing they did not make contact with the still=healing third degree burn.

His vision from the swipe was blurred. His head felt like it was spinning. From where he was, he could see the herd and the other Residents running about in a fright. He even saw one of the purple and blue _Struthiomimus_ accidentally get knocked away by a panic-stricken elephant. The cause of the pachyderm's rampage was the _Elasmotherium_ chasing the mammal away.

His observance of the chaos was interrupted when he heard the slow, thundering footfalls. Aladar, although his vision was still adjusting, looked at the direction of the lakeshore. Diablo sauntered towards him, jaws open to reveal his teeth and ripping with saliva. The cerulean one tried to get back up to escape, but to no avail. His head and side still hurt from the attack. Not only that, but the bite area was stinging. He ignored that sensation before to attack Diablo moments ago, but his exertion made the wound open more. Aladar could only watch as the enemy came closer.

But the attack was interrupted. Something from above swooped in and pecked away at the giant's head with a slender beak. His salvation was in the form of a purple and brown _Pteranodon_ with a distinctive paddle-like crest. Flia had come to help just in the nick of time.

"Get away from him you horned freak!" Flia shrieked as she hovered defensively over the predator's head.

On and on, she squawked and stabbed at the towering horned dinosaur, intent on getting at his eyes. Flia hoped that this tactic would allow her leader and friend to escape. The _Pteranodon's_ attacks hit home on the head, creating small, but bloody puncture marks. Diablo kept swinging his head in different directions in an attempt to avoid the pterosaur. His roars became louder with each shake.

Flia's domain was the sky after all. Each flap of her wings and movement of her body allowed the scout to easily dodge the head swipes or get to another potential area to strike. She even used her talons to scratch away at the head, creating small but irritating wounds. At one point, the Carnotaur switched his strategy by attempting to bite the flyer. Diablo would jump and attempt to snap his jaws on the frail but nimble pterosaur, but he would only be biting air. The aerial reptile would flap her wings to gain altitude and dodge the monster's attack. Each failed jump shook the ground, creating miniature rumbles.

The flying reptile then switched to a different approach. She flew up, flapping her wings vigorously to gain altitude. At twenty feet higher up, she flipped over in a loop and dove down. She folded her wings and angled her body until her flight pattern was more diagonal, Her intent was to come in so that she could strike the predator with her two feet on his head to knock him away.

Unfortunately, that plan did not work. Diablo saw this coming the moment she began to descend. Once she was close enough, he backed up, angled his body lower to the ground, the swiftly turned around. His tail swished through the air and struck the flyer at the side, batting her away like a leaf.

Flia let out a pained breath from the hard hit to her left side. She was lucky enough that her wing and fingers were fine due to the fact that the beast's tail wasn't very flimsy. The pterosaur sailed through the air until she landed on the ground with a grunt. Her body rolled over until she was sprawled out, lying flat on her stomach.

"Flia!" Aladar called out after watching the whole event.

The sky-scout did not move, but he saw she was still breathing. Flia was stunned and disoriented, leaving the _Iguanodon_ to fend for himself. She had landed a few feet from his left and could easily get to her. That was, if he could even get up fast enough. He tried to prop his back feet under him while his forelimbs met the ground. His back stung and he let out a pained breath. Slowly, he rose to try to get back on his feet. But his effort was stopped when the giant predator got near him.

Diablo raised a foot and forcefully pushed Aladar back onto the ground. The dinosaur let out a yelp, his face wincing in pain. He shut his eyes tightly, both from his screaming wounds and from the blow that he was about to get.

"Now that all the distractions are out of the way, where were we?" he rumbled threateningly. He perked his head up in a playful, yet thoughtful manner before sneering down at this prey. "Ah yes, that's right. I was about to crush that pretty head of yours in my jaws."

He was about to lean down on him to get at his head when something stopped the predator. Diablo looked behind him when he heard the call of a young child. To his interest, he noticed a small group of younglings a few feet away from the chaos meet up with each other.

The youngsters were all of different species, the majority being _Iguanodons_. They ranged from colors like purple, pink, and green variants. Diablo glanced back down at his prey to see him with a horrified expression.

" _No doubt those are his children,"_ he figured, taking note that they looked just like Aladar and his mate Neera.

He then observed the other children in the group. One of them was a small _Pachyrhinosaurus_ and another was a young _Parasaurolophus_. The third one was the oddest of the group. This one had a gray hide, long floppy and flat appendages on each side of the head that flapped on command, and a long serpentine extension at the front of the face. But Diablo didn't care about appearances. He was more interested in the moment.

"You guys okay?" one of the _Iguanodon_ children, apparently female and sported a light lavender hide, asked the others before her. Two other Iguanodons, one jade and one pink supported her on each side. The odd gray one found a place next to the speaker.

"Yeah, we're fine," the _Parasaurolophus_ , who was also female and flanked on both sides by two more _Iguanodons_ and the little ceratopsian, spoke up. "Kind of bruised in some places, but fine."

Diablo turned away from the conversation and back to the fallen cerulean prey, chuckling. Aladar could only glance up to see a glint of malicious interest in those yellow eyes. The sight made him shiver in fear.

"Hmm...Well things just got even more interesting. The fact that I'm about to kill you brings me satisfaction," he chuckled then continued. "But I think I'd rather have a bit of fun first."

He leaned in closer until he was mere inches from his head. The hot stinking breath wafted past Aladar's hide like a hot desert wind. "You've taken everything away from me; an endless food source, my mate, and my life. Now, I will take everything away from you. You brought this pain on me, now I will make you suffer as I have suffered. Watch as I slaughter those you love before your very eyes!"

Diablo lifted his foot off the adversary's back and stormed towards the children in the distance. Aladar could only watch in horror as the monster got closer to killing his children and their friends. He shakily hoisted his upper body up to get a better vantage point. HIs wounds may be hindering his movement and the bite from Diablo slowed him, but that didn't stop his voice.

"Kids! Get out of here!" he warned them.

The kids looked over at that direction and were surprised to see him in such a state. That turned into terror when they caught sight of the gigantic Carnotaur coming at them. The younglings screamed at the top of their lungs. The form of the ever-nearing predator prevented them from moving, for they were frozen with fear.

Diablo let out a victorious roar as he closed in for the easy kills. The youngsters shook in fear, tears now streaming from their eyes. The only one that was able to make a move was Mikiya, who raised her little trunk for a loud and squeaky trumpet that echoed through the area.

"NO!" Aladar yelled when the predator was just a few feet from the kids.

Just then, a mass of brown hair came charging from the left. The mysterious figure broadsided the demon dinosaur and forcefully knocked him into the lake. When the Iguanodon looked again after watching his enemy fall into a deepening portion of the shoreline, he saw that the figure was a towering mammoth with two large tusks on both sides of the trunk.

"Leave my niece and her friends alone!" Martha threatened, her voice sounding like that of a blaring trumpet.

The children stood there, absolutely flabbergasted. Right when they were in the face of death, Martha had stepped in to save them in time. While they were mulling on the thoughts of not moving when they should have, they could not help but be awestruck at the form and the determination the mammoth was giving off. Most of them let out sighs of relief, but it was Mikiya that broke the silence.

"Yay! Thanks Auntie Martha!" she cheered, raising her trunk up in admiration.

Nearby in the lake, Diablo managed to scramble himself up from his downed position. Body now soaked and water dripping down profusely, he slowly made his way to the shore, now even more ornery. The water trail he left behind erupted in foamy waves and disruptive ripples. He shook his great body, getting the excess water off like a dog would after a bath. The drops fell onto the water like little raindrops.

Martha quickly turned her head to the youngsters and hollered at them fearfully. "Children! Run to the forest NOW!"

The younglings obeyed without question. They scampered towards the mammoth and around her in order to get to the trees at the other side. The dense forest would provide enough cover for them to hide and was the best place to be to get away from the chaos in the valley.

Behind them, Martha and Diablo were engaged in a full on battle. Ice Age mega-fauna versus the horned bull dinosaur. Both creatures were massive and were nearly the same size. They exchanged blows to each other, from Martha's swipes from her trunk to Diablo's charges. They even charged up to each other, with the horned carnivore on the mammoth's face and attempting to get a good bite on her while she would try to shake him off.

The kids ran in a small group, with the _Iguanodon_ sisters in the front and Talin's group in the back. Mikiya stayed near Kaya and pushed her onward in an effort to make her go faster. She was trying to trail behind so that she could watch the whole fight. The pachyderm didn't want any of them to stick around, so she did what her Aunt Martha or even her mother would do in that kind of situation. She urged her to keep going with her head and trunk along with forceful pushes. Things did not go as they planned when they all spotted the wounded Aladar and dazed Flia. The _Iguanodon_ triplets and Mikiya went to Flia while the others went to the leader's side.

"Kids, what are you doing!? Didn't you hear what Martha said!?" Aladar told them all with worry in his tone. Alden and Tirech were trying to nudge him up with their bodies on both of his sides while Talin and Charon stood guard.

"But Dad!" the eldest son retorted, worried about his father in his state. He then checked around his body for any more injuries after watching the battle between Diablo and Martha before them, only finding the bite marks on his rear to be the most impeding at the moment. "You're hurt and so is Flia!"

"Don't worry about us!" he replied after shaking his head and giving them a reassuring smile. "We're fine! Just get to safety!"

"Daddy, we're not leaving without you!" Alden cried out, stomping his hooves as a complaint. He almost lost his father to a Fireball and to a battle against Nero before. He did not want to lose him to a huge carnivore like Diablo. Talin felt the same way, though he did not show it as much as his little brother.

"ALL OF YOU, DO AS I SAY!" he ordered them. The little ones trembled at the power of his voice. Even the girls stopped checking on Flia when he said that. She did not sport any major injuries, so she was okay.

Aladar's reassuring demeanor turned into a commanding one. This was not the last time they saw him like this. As a leader of the herd, it was his job to project orders to anyone on various occasions like when they were migrating. He'd never do this to his own family, but seeing as everyone was in danger at the moment, he had no choice but to resort to it. To his surprise, they shook their heads and continued what they were doing.

"Sorry Dad, but you can't make us change our minds. We're helping you whether you like it or not," his eldest son protested.

At that statement, the herd leader could only look at his sons and their friends in bewilderment. He had done everything to get them to leave the area. Yet they are remaining here to make sure he and Flia got out in time too. The blue-green alpha did not know whether to be angry at them for making this foolish decision to stay, or to be proud of them.

Aladar had seen this behavior before. His own son mentioning that phrase brought him back to the canyon battle last year. A certain human had said the same thing and remained with him to make sure the herd was safe. He could see that this was not foolishness coming from them. In fact, this was bravery.

The _Iguanodon_ sighed and smiled at them. "I suppose I can't argue with that."

Talin smiled and then noticed the female _Parasaurolophus_ that was with them turn around to see his father.

"Aladar, can you walk?" Charon questioned him, glancing over at his bite wound on the back.

The leader brought his legs back and tried to get up. It was slow, and each movement strained his muscles. Tirech then got to his left side while Alden was on his right and nudged him up. In no time, he was already on his feet, albeit it was a little shaky.

"Thanks guys. Now let's get to Flia," he told the children and hurried over to the unconscious pterosaur.

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Martha flexed her trunk in front of her in a twisted motion before letting it relax. The new scratches and bites she received stung a little for the mega-fauna, but thanks to the layers upon layers of hair she had, her wounds were slightly minimized. Of course, they were still an annoyance. The keepers would have to take a look at them before they could get any worse. She equated the bite she got from her opponent to the spear injury she received years ago, when hunters attacked her during an attempt to get at her deceased herd mate's body.

But now was not the time to think about the past, or her current condition for that matter. The armored carnivore before her threatened not just the safety of her niece, her friends, or her Sisterhood, but of everyone in the valley as well.

Martha eyed her opponent cautiously, awaiting his next move. For the past few minutes, they had been battling it out; teeth against tusks, scales colliding against hair, brute force against shear strength. It was the battle of giants. The earth rumbled with each stomp on the ground and the air echoed with their collisions against each other. Despite Martha outweighing the theropod by a ton, Diablo's maneuverability managed to keep him out of reach from most of the Mammoth's punishing blows. Martha's sheer weight made her slow and cumbersome in comparison.

Diablo shook his head, let out a snort, and charged again. He then jumped towards the pachyderm and landed on the front of her face. His feet tried desperately to claw at her trunk, but could not get a good grip due to its flimsy movements. The Carnotaur then resorted to biting on the front of her face, just like before. His teeth dug deeper into her flesh with each consecutive bite.

The mammoth winced in pain at the stinging pain on her face, but she held her ground. Using her brute strength and size, she violently pushed him away from her. As she was doing that she noticed nearby one of the acacia trees that the keepers planted some time ago. The Ice Age denizen knew that large tree could give her an advantage towards this predator. The vegetation falling on him wouldn't cause too much damage, but at least it would stun him long enough for the mammoth to knock him unconscious with a stomp from her enormous feet.

As she pushed him towards that direction, she could feel his movements become staggered. His feet backing up and the stumbling were a clear indication that they were going where she planned. Diablo's enormous clawed feet couldn't compare to the force of a 5-ton Mammoth powerhouse. Things were going well, until the carnivore decided to jump away from her.

Martha rumbled under her breath with disappointment. They were halfway towards that tree. But she knew that this was just a minor setback. All she needed to do was to get him close enough to that area so that she could get that part of the plan into action. She watched Diablo let out a snort before he charged again. The horned dinosaur roared and then stopped just a few feet from her. He angled his body and moved his tail in a swift motion to strike at her side.

The Ice Age mammal answered this with a strike of her own. She used her head and trunk to swipe at it in the opposite direction. The impact was successful, as it diverted the tail strike away from the intended area. Martha also saw this as an opportunity in the form of the side of his body now open.

She charged at him and pushed again. Diablo roared in surprise and squirmed frantically as he tried to wriggle himself free from the hold. The tusks prevented him from moving well. Couple that with the push and he was pretty much trapped.

On and on they got closer to the tree. Finally, Martha used every ounce of her strength to carry him around in a semi-circle movement and let out a primal bellow. The carnivore was tossed back with a quick flick of her head. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and rolled around once before he stopped on his stomach. The carnivore's position was just a few feet away, but it the space needed to get her plan into motion.

"Is that all you can muster, or do you wish to receive more punishment!?" Martha taunted, first pointing at him with her trunk before relaxing in a readied stance.

Diablo slowly got up and stumbled on his feet. His head now spinning and his vision blurry from that last hit made it difficult for him to see the mammoth clearly. The Carnotaur shook his head and blinked twice in an attempt to readjust himself as he snarled at the Ice Aged pachyderm.

"Filthy mammal, when I'm through with you, you'll wish you hadn't said that!" he retorted. The predator charged at her in his near-stunned state.

Martha smirked at his action and then retreated behind the tree beside her. She quickly began to push with her face and tusks to topple the large acacia. The crooked plant creaked with the amount of unyielding force it was put under. Moments later, it snapped like a twig and gave way with a glorious "crack". The acacia wood split apart, the base looking like a splintered stump. The tree fell rapidly down, towards the charging predator.

Unfortunately, Diablo saw this coming. His vision started to clear up during the charge and noticed what the mammoth intended to do. Before the plant and branches could crash on top of him, he maneuvered out of the way to the right, the tree just missing his tail by a few inches.

"Tch," the mammoth drew a sharp breath on the failed plan.

That may have failed, but she wasn't about to give up so easily.

Not losing any momentum, Martha charged toward the end of the fallen tree and snagged onto one of the large branches with her trunk just as the _Carnotaurus_ growled and charged at her. The mammoth tore off the earthy appendage like a little twig. With the branches positioned like an odd-shaped flat cloud and the improvised weapon being the size of her nose, she raised newly acquired club and swung at him with a yell. The result was the predator being struck across the face and stumbling off towards the side. His head dropped in a slanted motion facing his right foot.

He then returned his gaze towards the mammoth and, letting out another primal roar, rushed over to her now open right shoulder. With a quick motion of his head, he chomped on her with a bite force that was strong enough to snap a steel pole in two. His prey screamed at the pain on her shoulder.

Unfortunately for the crimson beast, the amount of shaggy hair she had, along with her species natural fat reserves, made it difficult for him to get a good grip. His dagger-like teeth got caught amongst the Mammoth's fur, making his jaws stuck on Martha's side like Velcro. He felt the large nose appendage move up and attempt to strike at him again via the base of his tail. Her wild swing however, missed his body by a few inches on his right. This cost Martha her weapon as it was released from the wooly mammoth's trunk and landed with a rustled crash.

Martha trumpeted in rage before using her tusks to bat him away. The ivory bones hit him in the rear, causing Diablo to release his grip on her, along with small clumps of the Mammoth's hair snagged in his teeth, and fall over. His body impacted the ground, creating a little tremor that lasted for a second. Martha then snapped her head away from the fallen carnivore and looked around for any sign of the children.

Thankfully, she found them at her right just about a hundred feet away. They were helping the injured herd leader and the disoriented _Pteranodon_ escape from the area. She watched as the flyer was hoisted into Aladar's back with the help of all the children. Flia lay on the cerulean ornithopod's back like a large leaf. Her eyes were closed, but she did see her wing twitch a little.

Wanting to get them to safety, Martha fled from the downed carnivore towards their position. Her shoulder hurt intensely from the huge bite, but it was not enough to slow her down. As the mammoth hurried away, Diablo managed to get back up from the last hit with a roll onto his feet. If the resistance he received from his previous opponents angered him, seeing them flee utterly pissed him off.

"GET BACK HERE!" he yelled at them.

He was about to give chase when a new voice stopped him. In contrast to the deep, maternal rumble of the mammoth, this one was younger and possessed a threatening, yet lighthearted tone. It sounded like that of a young female. However, Diablo knew this voice anywhere. And it was one that he did not like at all.

"DIABLO!" the girl called out to him.

He looked towards the hills nearby that served as the border to the elephant grounds. They were barren before, but now there was something new. The sun was preparing to set, giving the sky a goldenrod glow. The figure standing at the top of one of the hills stared at him with intense eyes. The newcomer was a human that sported a gray hooded short-sleeved tee, denim shorts, and short black hair. The white cast that was on her arm stood out against her tan skin, and made that part of her limb look thicker.

The predator stood up straight and glared at the human. Although he was surprised to see her, he still felt that rage he had for her build up within him. Too many times has she interfered with his plans, this one being an addition to the list. Diablo wanted to kill this girl for not only contributing to his downfall in the past, but also for distracting him. He did not need to look back to see that his targets had escaped.

"If it isn't the two-legged pest!" he replied condescendingly. "Here to save your feeble friends now are you?"

Hazel glared at him for that comment. She never liked being called short or any other word that was related to it. The girl gripped the thick end of the tranquilizer she had hanging over her right shoulder. She wanted to shoot him with all of the darts she had in her arsenal until he died from the overdose of chemicals. But she knew that doing so would only make her just as bad as him.

"So you managed to break out of your enclosure…" she spoke out, placing her hands on her hips.

Diablo nodded and grinned. "Indeed I have. I had a little help in the form of a leaf-sucker that desired revenge. He was a pawn to me though. His usefulness had ended when I broke free from that prison."

"Why Diablo?" she continued. Although she was still pissed off at Nero for what he had done, this was not the time to be dwelling on that mistake. No use crying over spilled milk if the problem isn't solved. "Why are you doing this? We've given you a second chance! I brought you here so you could live in peace! Why squander all that away by causing havoc?"

"You should know!" the _Carnotaurus_ protested in irritation. "My life was robbed from me because of you and your friends!"

The mention of that made Hazel remember that last meeting with him. He spoke of his reason for hating her and her friends for that night at the cave. She felt bad for him on losing someone he cared about dearly. But that was no excuse to break out and vent his rage on those that took him in, or stayed away from him out of respect. Or even to chase after the large group of creatures that slipped away from his jaws when he had the chance last time.

"I know what you lost!" she argued. "I'm sorry for what happened. But you should know that we weren't the ones that killed her! You must see that!"

"Oh I see clearly," Diablo sneered at her. "I see that you are merely saying that to delay yourself from your coming death! Well enough of your prattle!"

He then took a few steps forward threateningly. Hazel gripped her tranquilizer strap with her left hand, ready to bring it out to defend herself. She stood her ground and prepared for her counterattack. Standing up on a hill all alone, about to fight off against one of the most fearsome predators to ever walk the earth, was foolish on her part. But she had a plan, one that she believed would work.

"Are you ready human?" he showed her all of his teeth, his mouth once again dripping with saliva. "To face my wrath once more?"

"YES!" she hollered and gave him a smirk. That reaction confused the _Carnotaurus_. He expected her to be trembling in fear on what was coming. But instead, she stood there, smiling at her death rather than running. "WE ARE!"

At that moment, two other figures climbed up on the hill, flanking her on each side. Diablo's eyes widened and was shocked at what he was seeing. The creatures that now stood with the human were much bigger than her. Standing on two feet and sporting massive jaws with large sharp teeth were dead giveaways of a carnivore.

The duo was similar to each other, both having gray hides and a lighter-colored underbelly with vertical stripes on their backs. The only key difference was that the one on the human's right was slightly larger than the other. Observing their size, Diablo noticed that they were nearly as big as him, but short by a couple of feet in height. He could tell they were young adults. In addition, he noticed that they looked different in body shape as well; they were leaner and sported jaws that were more narrow than his. Although he was now outnumbered two to one, he did not show them any sign of fear.

The larger predator, apparently female due to her voice, craned her head down towards the human. "This the guy you asked us to beat up?"

Hazel nodded and glanced at the Rex before looking back at the lone _Carnotaurus_. "Yeah. That's Diablo, your target. Now remember what I said?"

"Only attack him and no one else," the male Rex on her opposite side recanted without looking at her. "And you also said not to kill him."

"You also mentioned that by helping you take down this creep, you'd lift the punishment you put on us and return us to our living spaces," the dinosaur queen mentioned.

"That's right," Hazel said in a lighthearted tone. "Now let's make things even sweeter. First one to defeat Diablo gets _three times_ the amount of meat each meal for three months."

Matilda raised an eye ridge in confusion. "Wait, what about the double the amount of meat on the deal? How long was that going to be?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "Well I was thinking of the same amount of time for that part, but this one should be a better deal. Or would you rather I make the prize that instead of triple the amount of food?" she told them with a sly tone. Although she did not like it that the two did not succeed in getting along, taking care of Diablo was more important as of now. She would have to figure out another way to get these two to cooperate with each other another way, but later.

Both twins shook their heads against that. They did not want to have less meat for the same amount of time. However, they were still happy about the fact that after this was done, they would be away from each other's company. They would be back in their separate enclosures. The two Tyrannosaurs grinned in anticipation.

"Nope, I'm good," Matilda straightened and looked at her target straight in the eye.

"Three months is alright with me!" Terrence added.

"I thought so," Hazel chided then pointed her free hand at the unruly predator at the base of the hill. "Now, KICK HIS ASS!"

The teenagers let out primal roars up into the sky, their calls sending chills down the spines of anyone near them. The predators then sprinted down the hill towards their target, their jaws agape to show the jagged rows of teeth that could rip apart flesh with a single stroke.

Diablo was slightly taken aback by their charge, but he was not scared by the slightest. The fact that he was going up against two teenagers was laughable. He'd be able to take them on easily because of their immature stature. Their speed down the hill was fast, but experience told the bull that was not enough to decide a battle, and neither were numbers.

The red armored lizard snorted and then charged at them, letting out a battle cry of his own. The valley was about to make a transformation, from a stampeding ground into a war zone between a _Carnotaurus_ and two _Tyrannosaurus Rexes_. This was now a war for the title of the most fearsome creature in Prehistoric Park.


	24. Devil's Advocate: Balance Restored

_**Soundtrack: Final Stand by Zhao Shen**_

Hazel wanted to smack herself. Releasing the Twins and having them go after Diablo was a good idea. If she only got one of them, they would be overpowered easily. Having both was the best option because two was better than one in a battle. They had one job, and that was to beat up Diablo and weaken him to a point where the tranquilizer dart would work its magic at a much faster rate. That would be when she would have the perfect shot. But apparently, getting both Twins out was also a bad idea, as they started squabbling the moment they started charging towards their opponent.

She let out a groan and ran after them. Her ribs ached again and she let out a stifled breath. Her chest felt like it was about to blow apart from the amount of effort she put into running. But that did not matter now. She needed to get over there and help take down Diablo quickly. Otherwise the Twins' squabbling would make things worse.

"Back off bro!" Matilda spat at her brother, nearly nipping at his leg.

Terrence shot a dirty look at her before replying. "Sorry stinkbreath! That prize is mine! And I'm getting it first!"

"No it's mine!" she retorted. Using her powerful legs, she got to her brother's side and knocked him away with his body. The male rex ran off course in a diagonal direction as a result.

With her competition out of the way, Matilda got her chance at attacking her target. The first thing she did was use her head to hit him against his snout. The attack made the bull dinosaur lose his footing slightly, and even let out a yelp of surprise. This even surprised Diablo as the amount of strength coming from the teenaged rex was unexpected for her size.

With a new opening created, Matilda lunged towards his neck and bit him in a jaw hold. The _Carnotaurus_ squealed at the crushing grip of the female predator's bite; her teeth drawing blood from getting into the sensitive parts away from his armored portions. Diablo shook his head rigorously in an attempt to loosen her grip. The effect being her grip getting tighter as a result.

She then used every ounce of her strength to throw the crimson killer in a circular downward throw motion. The dinosaur flew away from the budding queen's grip and landed on the grass with a minor tremor just slightly to the right of where he was before he was dragged around in a circle.

The _Tyrannosaurus_ could not help but smirk at her accomplishment. She may be smaller than her opponent, but her strength and power were enough to put him in a more vulnerable position. Just when she was about to go up to him to beat him up some more, something large broadsided her on the right. Matilda screeched and landed on her side. When she looked over at what hit her, she roared at the appearance of her brother, who bore a smug face.

"Hey!" she snapped at him.

"Sorry sis," he chortled with a mischievous grin. "Better leave this to the boys. Don't you know that a battlefield is no place for a girl?"

Matilda watched as her twin bolted for the recovering _Carnotaurus_. The fact that her brother just made fun of her AND brought up that stupid rule about girls against fighting really irked her. It was something they overheard one of the humans said before and her brother liked to bug her about it. "Claw-blocker! That's MY target! Plus that insult doesn't make any sense!"

"You snooze, you lose!" Terrence laughed.

Diablo, who was just getting back up from his jaw throw, quickly got back to his feet. By the time he did, however, his face was met with another strike. This time, it was a tail swipe from the younger male rex. Roaring in pain at the hit, he shut his eyes to placate the new stinging sensation under his eye. He really did not expect this much strength to come from something smaller than him. But there was something about his new opponents that made him smile a little.

" _The human resorted to sending children after me?"_ he thought while Terrence went in for an attack at his throat. The Twins' amusing squabbles made Diablo want to laugh out loud. Predators that fought against each other were a surefire sign of an advantage, especially for him. _"And it would seem they're fighting against each other. A futile attempt on her part…"_

Through his internal musings, the horned devil was able to dodge the neck bite by sidestepping away. The _Tyrannosaurus'_ jaws snapped shut only to meet air. His mouth making a "clamp" sound that was strong enough to crush anything in half, including his own tail. Diablo charged at him with a growl. The horns on his head coupled with his strength met the rex's thick head. The attack made Terrence slightly lose his footing, but not so much as to completely stun him.

The nimble teenager roared then met the demon dinosaur's head with his own. The blow sound was the equivalent to that of the ceratopsians colliding with each other with their armored carapaces.

Terrence's plan was flawed. His plan was to stun the target with a swipe of his own head so that he could go in for a throat bite like what his twin did. Unfortunately, he struck at a heavily armored portion of the skull, one where the horn above Diablo's eye hit a certain part of his head. The bone gratefully did not embed into his eye, but Terrence was now stunned nonetheless. He fell onto his side, his head swirling in a daze from hitting something that was more protected than he thought.

"Ow...my head…" Terrence whined, wriggling his head at the throbbing on the ground in order to massage it.

Diablo, on the other hand, felt that hit, but only as a hard nudge. He was thankful for his own biology that he did not suffer a concussion. Now recovered, Diablo prepared to make an ending blow to the juvenile tyrannosaur with a fatal bite to the neck. He raised his head up high, and let out a gut-wrenching bellow.

" **ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!"**

He dove his head down, jaws ready at the nape.

When he expected to hear the boy's neck bones crack under his jaws, a different crack was heard instead. Something large knocked him away from his dazed target. The force that occurred on his right side was strong enough to fracture a couple of ribs. His roars turned into a screech when he landed on the ground, on the unbroken side of his stomach.

Diablo looked over at that direction and was annoyed to see the other female rex at the place where he stood. Mouth agape and saliva falling in streaks like a thick string from a spider. The queen hissed at him and crouched down, ready to strike at him once more. Her dazed comrade, on the other hand, only made minute movements in his stunned state.

The two carnivores charged once more. Their bodies clashed and teeth dug into their hides. Blood spewed out from the new wounds, staining the pristine grass with red streaks. Head swipes, tail swipes, and bites occurring all over their bodies all summed up to a seemingly unending battle. This was one where it appeared to have no clear winner at the moment. Diablo may have sheer size and power on his side, but Matilda had more speed and could give just as much punishment.

By the time Hazel arrived just a few feet away from Terrence's twitching form, due to stopping a few times from her rib injuries, the fight was only worsening. Roars and growls exchanged between the two sides. Matilda was already sustaining a number of gashes from Diablo's eye horns grazing her hide and deep bite marks all over her body, the most prominent ones being near her head and neck. The Carnotaur, on the other hand, sustained very little injuries. His opponent's own attacks did very little on his skin from the amount of armor he possessed.

She took the tranquilizer off of her shoulders and readied it. Left hand on the underside and right hand on the trigger. Preparing it was easy, as it already came prepared with darts within its confines. The hard part was aiming. Hazel's right arm cast meddled with her positioning on the gun itself. Every time she tried to get her hand in the right place, or even aim at a different angle, the gun would merely slip from her fingers. Last time she used a weapon like this was by pure luck. Now, she did not have that at all.

"God damnit!" Hazel cursed when the gun slipped through her fingers.

Repositioning it by lifting it up again, she did her best to take aim at the rampaging Carnotaur. Left and right, the predator moved. Matilda's rigorous movements on attacking the red predator made it all the more difficult in keeping up with the target.

Moments passed, and she finally got a lock on Diablo's nape when the female rex had his snout in her jaws. Mouth shut tight from the bite force and teeth keeping it clamped shut made for the perfect opportunity for Hazel. In fact, according to a previous retelling from Nigel years ago, Matilda had her brother in a similar hold when they had a squabble during a hot day.

Finger on the trigger notch, she pressed it and fired. The dart sailed through the air in a green and pink blur with a "fwip" sound. Its destination was the base of the Carnotaur's neck.

Unfortunately, the dart never made it. Diablo managed to squirm his way free of Matilda's hold and strike back at the rex by moving back. The chemically-filled dart missed its mark just by a few inches. The dart continued on until it landed on solid ground, standing at an angle similar to a fallen arrow. The feathers it bore angled up at the sky like a silver, odd-looking plant.

"Shitballs!" Hazel cursed again and relaxed her gun. She stomped her foot out of frustration before making her way around the battling duo. If the park was going to live to see another day, then Diablo needed to be taken out. Releasing the Twins was a good idea before; keeping Diablo distracted and weakening him to the point where she could strike. But apparently, things were not going in each other's way.

Now standing on the other side, Hazel tried her luck once more. She took aim at his neck and fired again. The dart zipped through the air, intended on reaching its destination. Fate messed around with the young keeper again in the form of the predator sidestepping towards her direction.

While Hazel was trying to get at a new position to shoot by circling around the battling carnivores, Matilda was busy trying to get an upper hand at the new Resident. His sheer size and strength were making it difficult for her to knock him down. However, her attempts weren't without gain. Diablo was getting forced towards the direction she intended, which was the lake itself.

Unbeknownst to the _Carnotaurus_ , Matilda had a plan up her sleeve...er, arm. It was a calculated guess, but she hoped that the shoreline at the lake sloped down towards the bottom in either a gradual or immediate drop. Both of which she did not mind. Either way, once Diablo was at the lake, she would be able to knock him down easily with the decreased height. Add that to the water level and she may be able to tire him out just by holding him under with her foot.

It was a good plan. However, Hazel's deal rang in her hidden ears. The goal was to not kill Diablo, but to tire him out. Knocking him unconscious would be an added bonus. The grey female giant shuddered at the thought of what would happen if she disobeyed that rule...or attacked anyone else in that matter.

On and on, she pushed. Diablo struggled against her miniscule strength. He wriggled and tried to turn on her, just to bite down on her neck or body. But Matilda did not let him by using head swipes and shoves. The tactic went on for what seemed like minutes. That time pushing and shoving paid off when the familiar sound of water splashing occurred.

Matilda smiled and gave Diablo one last shove into the shore. The red giant screeched as he stumbled back deeper into the murky depths. He struggled to regain his footing on the deeper threshold, one that he hoped to get out as soon as possible. Water and a deep domain such as this was the perfect ambush ground for a hunter like Irwin.

While the _Carnotaurus_ quickly lumbered onto shallower ground, he noticed something that made his stomach jump in relief. Just before him, right when Matilda was about to charge towards him once more, another rex managed to knock her aside. The grey shape and the smaller stature gave away his identity. Terrence watched as his sister fell over into the shoreline a few feet away from him with a screech.

"Oh I'm sorry sis!" he sarcastically apologized, which sounded more like an insult. "Did I just get water up your nose? Or sand down your throat? Well that's what you get for-!"

His condescending insults were cut off when he was grabbed by the nape. Bellowing in surprise, he found himself being dragged towards the shore before getting slammed onto the ground. Water dripping from their bodies and heavy breaths escaping their lungs, the battle had been returned to land. The identity of Terrence's attacker was none other than a pissed off Diablo.

Putting his foot on the teenager's chest, he pushed down hard, almost to the point where his ribs would break. Terrence screamed and squirmed under the weight of the giant carnivore.

"I'm impressed kid," Diablo commented with slight lightheartedness. "Not many actually live to stand up to me for this long. Yet one that has not yet reached full maturity such as yourself managed to survive longer than anyone else."

Terrence gagged as a way to show his disgust at the rival's choice of words. Considering that he was now in a very bad situation, he wasn't about to let this guy treat him like a child to prolong his death. "You trying to bore me or something? I'm not some kid you know! I can still bite your ankles off!"

The Carnotaur rumbled with laughter, his teeth shining in the daylight with red splotches like a stained fruit. "Your attitude is very...adorable. I would have asked you to join me in my crusade against the herd and everyone else here, but you have sided with the human brat.

"I hate to kill another fellow carnivore, but any friend of that insect is an enemy of mine. So sorry it had to end this way…" With that said, the horned carnivore began to apply pressure to his foot, slowly crushing the teen Rex underfoot.

Terrence could not do anything. Every time he squirmed, his killer-to-be would press on him even harder. His body now undergoing a vast amount of pressure, the rex did nothing but look up at the beast. Eyes glowing with hatred and teeth at the ready, he watched as the carnivore prepared for the kill.

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Matilda jolted her head up at the sound of a crash. Droplets scattered from her head at the sudden jerking movement. Moments before, her twin shoved her away so that he could interfere in her attempt to win Hazel's prize. Her body became partly submerged in the shallow water, with the sand and silt forming out in her body shape.

Looking over her shoulder, she expected to see a battle to be happening, only find none. Instead, she was bewildered to see Diablo towering over Terrence's anguished form. A foot on her brother, she could clearly tell that he was putting her twin under a lot of pain from the amount of pressure he was receiving. A shout was then heard from nearby, which prompted the female rex to investigate.

She peered over to the left of the battle outcome. Standing a few yards away, tranquilizer gun poised for an attack, was young Hazel. A stroke of fear shone on her delicate face for the fallen teen. Matilda could clearly see she was desperately trying to save his life from the amount of effort she was giving to hold the gun up. But her cast hindered her hold and thus made it difficult for her to be in a comfortable position.

"Oh my God, Terrence!" Hazel cried as she frantically tried to get a grip on her gun.

Matilda returned her attention to the _Carnotaurus_ and her fellow twin. From her point of view, she could see that the super-carnivore was preparing for a final blow at the neck. Digging through the confines of her early childhood, she remembered watching her own mother hunt down prey for herself and her children. One of the things she would do when she trapped prey would be to go for the neck. By shaking it and then crushing it in her jaws, the victim would go limp and be nothing more than a fresh corpse. Matilda had grown used to seeing prey dying in her life that it had become nothing towards her.

This, however, was unlike that. Instead of seeing a dead _Ornithomimus_ or some hadrosaur clinging on to life, it was her own brother. A feeling of overwhelming dread penetrated her soul. Matilda could not explain it, but the sight of seeing her brother about to die made her feel different.

Something like this should be making her happy. Terrence, the crazy, annoying, and immature sibling that she grew up with was about to be killed by a larger killer than their own mother. Her twin about to die was something she should be elated about, for it would mean quieter days, less competition over food, and zero arguments.

Yet, for some reason, she was feeling scared. Matilda did her best to shake off that feeling. She had half a mind to just get up and walk away, allowing the red monster to do the dirty job of eliminating the competition. But no matter how much effort she put into forgetting it, the good memories she had with her twin would just pop up. The days when they were with their mother, playing near a river, rolling the rocks around like balls, even play fighting with each other not long after they arrived at Prehistoric Park.

Just then, something within her memories surfaced. Moments of careful analyzing deduced the memory to the day when Hazel first lectured about their behavior.

" _There used to be many of you, but not anymore. You won't find any more rexes here. Now all you have...is each other_ ," those words echoed in Matilda's mind.

Reminiscing on that made the rex recall that faint memory when they were very young. Years ago, just before she and her brother escaped with Nigel to Prehistoric Park, they bore witness to their mother battling against one of their own for possession of a recent kill. The other carnivore merely wanted the _Ornithomimus_ corpse to sustain himself, but never looked in the direction of the twins. They were hiding behind a few rocks. As such, Matilda did not recall him ever paying any mind to them. It was a good thing too, for if he did, he would have surely killed them as a way to eliminate future competition.

Her mother knew about that and fought to protect her family, not just to feed them. So much so that she gave her own life to defend them. It was that very day that she and her brother became orphans.

" _Orphans…"_ she repeated to herself mentally. Thinking upon that made her remember that day when Hazel brought her friends along to visit.

Although it was a very different day, she along with her brother were still at each other's throats. This time it was over feeding. Hazel appeared to them, once again showing that same disappointment from before. And she wasn't alone either.

Her friends may have been standing nearby watching both carnivores, but one of them joined her at the viewing platform she stood at. If Matilda could remember correctly, it was a smaller creature; squatting in form, bearing a long slender tail, possessing arms and feet that were similar to that of a human's, and bearing a white and brown coat of hair. As to why she chose that specific companion to join her rather than the others in that group, the budding queen had no idea. But she did know that Hazel called her over for a reason. And that was to emphasize the meaning of family to her and her brother.

" _Being in a family means that you are with those you care about,"_ Plio, the name of the smaller mammal was what she remembered, explained in that memory. _"Members of a family protect each other, care for each other, and love each other. We help those in the darkest of times, and help bring them the lightest of days. We stick together, because when everyone around us leaves, our family will always be there to the end…"_

"Family…protect...love," Matilda muttered to herself.

Her eyes widened in realization. Their mother died for them because she loved them so much. She protected them so that they could live on. Now that they were on their own, they only had each other to depend on. All this time, they had been fighting each other over the little things rather than appreciating the most important thing they had. The only thing that reminded them of their past, before Prehistoric Park. The only reminder...of their parents.

True, Terrence was annoying at times and was a pain in the rear, but he was still her family. Those few times when they argued over their sleeping space, not sharing their food, or general stuff like who was the strongest were all meaningless. Matilda could not believe those instances were driving a wedge between the two. They nearly made them kill each other.

Her ruminations were interrupted when the beastly _Carnotaurus_ uttered something that made her insides boil.

"I hate to kill another fellow carnivore, but any friend of that insect is an enemy of mine. So sorry it had to end this way…"

Snapped back into reality, she watched as her only surviving member of her family was about to have his neck crushed in the jaws of a larger, much more dangerous enemy than the rex that killed their mother. One thing was apparent to her now, and it was something that she never thought of due to their petty squabbles over some prize a human gave them. The large amounts of food for three months and the separate living space became buried in the back of her mind. Her aching body from battling against Diablo and competing against Terrence meant nothing to her now.

She had to save Terrence, no matter what.

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Terrence shut his eyes tight. He awaited for those large teeth to impale his skin. He awaited the moment when his neck would break under all of that pressure. He waited for Diablo to send him into the dark expanses known as death.

But it never came…

A roar was heard from above him, one that sounded eerily familiar. He then found himself free from the weight of the other carnivore; his foot no longer on his body. The burden of having another carnivore pinning you on the ground mysteriously disappeared. Terrence found himself breathing normally once again; his chest now released from the crushing restraint and having his ribs almost break.

To add on to the mystery, he heard Diablo scream and then crash nearby. The ground shook when his body made contact with an unforgiving slam. The attack was followed by the voice of his mysterious savior, which he could hardly believe it when he opened his eyes. Snapping an eye open, he groggily picked his head up to see what happened. A gasp escaped his maw when he caught sight of his own sister just standing near his fallen form.

"Get away from my brother you horned ass!"

Her target now temporarily stunned from impacting his head against the ground, she looked over at her twin with sympathetic eyes. From all the years Terrence had known her, she wasn't much of a nice girl where she would be concerned over what happened to those near her. Especially towards a sibling. But now, seeing her just perform that action raised more questions rather than easing his curiosity on how he survived. For the first time, Terrence saw a hint of resolve and compassion coming from his twin.

"You okay bro?" she asked him.

The young king sputtered out an answer as he slowly got up. Now by his sister's side, he finally found one that was worth saying. "Yeah...I guess. My neck's a bit achy, but I'm fine."

The slate-colored theropod nodded then returned her attention to Diablo. Now getting his second wind from his fall, he slowly got up to battle against them again. Matilda crouched down and glared at her opponent, her mouth slightly opening to show off her lethal teeth that can cause infections within a short amount of time.

"Matilda, why'd you save me?" Terrence questioned offhandedly while looking over at the recovering _Carnotaurus_.

The twin glanced back at her sibling, tearing her gaze away from the rival. A small smile creased over her face. The expression unnerved the smaller warrior a bit rather than bringing assurance. "Because we're a family, and a family always sticks together. You may be a pain in the neck at times Terrence, but you're still my brother."

Right when she put her attention back at the now recovered burly theropod, she mentioned one last minor detail. The words made the teenaged male want to playfully nudge her at the side. "Plus I wouldn't have anyone to tease if he took you out."

Hearing her say that shocked Terrence to no end. For as long as he knew her, she would always fight against him. But now, seeing her like to defend her own family was something he never thought he'd live to see. For the first time in a long time, they were true siblings again. In this moment, they were regarded as a family.

The male rex shook his head, wanting to get away from the sentimentality. He respected his twin for that statement, but now was not the time to be making up. There was an obstacle in their way and it was up to them to take care of the problem. The other residents nearby were too busy in their panic to help, in fact, they were glad their screaming and bellowing did not interfere with the fight itself. Mostly because they were a far enough distance away from them.

"Well enough about that. We've got some ass-kicking to do at the moment," Matilda playfully chided.

Terrence laughed and got into a stance as well. Crouched and ready to charge at the _Carnotaurus_ , he awaited for his sister's command to strike. But not without her giving out words of advice to take down the ruthless predator.

"This guy's tougher than I expected. He's nearly as tall as our mom and probably stronger than her. It's going to take the both of us to take him down."

"What's the plan?" the little king inquired while keeping an eye on his opponent.

"Fight head on," she simply replied. "When one of us distracts him, the other attacks. Remember, we've got to give Hazel time to use that weapon of hers. Then we let the human magic do its dirty work."

"Got it," Terrence acknowledged.

A further ways from them, they saw Diablo get into a battle stance of his own. He raised his head and bellowed a battle cry, one that was loud enough to travel for miles from where they were. Snapping his head back at them, his eyes shone with pure hatred. The injuries he received from his previous bouts today, including his battle against the twins separately, dotted his body like a sore thumb. His red coloring did nothing to mask the blood that ran down his sides and his neck.

"Attack!" Matilda cried and bolted to the large predator.

Terrence followed suit. Both rexes roared at the bigger theropod. The earth rumbled beneath their feet as they made their way towards him. Diablo charged as well, ready to take on two young predators at once. The true final battle of the valley had finally begun.

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Hazel watched proudly when the two Tyrannosaurs did battle with their opponent. Back and forth, they exchanged blows. For what seemed like several minutes had slowed down as she watched the battle continue. Swipes to the head, tail whips to the body, bites to the nape and back, it was all happening in slow motion to the young human. To Hazel, it felt like something that would make the cut for a Jurassic Park movie.

Witnessing Terrence get pinned by Diablo had all but planted her legs on the spot. Just being several yards away from the attempted murder was enough to prevent her from moving. Even her arms refused to attend to her command to aim the tranquilizer at the Carnotaur. Her luck, and the horrific trance she was under, fell through when Matilda saved her twin.

Hearing her tell the male rex of his importance to her made her feel nothing but admiration. She was happy to see them finally reconcile to each other...and be a family once more. The junior keeper felt proud of this moment and of the siblings she worked so hard on to get them to cooperate. In fact, all she could compare herself to was a mother watching her own children mend their ways. She was all but pleased when she figured her lectures and the last visit to them with her own friends knocked some sense into them.

Her parental trance was broken when the two sides clashed again. The gray budding king had used the upper portion of his skull to ram against the jaw of the larger predator, knocking him back. The impact caused Diablo to shriek for a moment, a definite contrast to his deep, guttural roars. He staggered back at the sudden attack, but was only stunned for a brief moment. Once he recovered, he proceeded to go after his attacker.

That plan was interrupted when Matilda came in for a strike at his neck. Terrence's shove had actually given his sister a brief moment to prepare for an attack of her own. Diablo was caught mid-roar when the female rex chomped on his nape. The bite force was enough to be counted as a choke hold, considering he began to gasp for air and gag at the lack of oxygen. The predator squirmed at the hold and tried to shake her off, but to no avail.

Seeing this as her chance, Hazel hoisted her gun up and moved in. Her sprint was more of a jog due to the strain on her ribs. Each ache and squeeze against her chest impeded her movement. To her, it felt like she was running a marathon with a lack of minute breaks. One minute of running and she had to stop, just to let her body relax and to gasp for breath. The distance she covered was laughable, being only a mere thirty feet. The battle itself had moved over to a different area due to Matilda pushing the giant bull lizard away by another fifty feet.

"Damn...stupid broken ribs!" she complained before running towards the battling trio again.

As she was approaching the current brawl, she noticed Matilda swing Diablo around in a circle before slamming him onto the earth. The impact created a mini tremor that would have put the human off her feet if she were in close proximity. The rex released him at the throw down then backed away, only to allow her brother to come to her aid.

Terrence had backed up by a few feet while his sibling did the dirty work of incapacitating their foe. He then charged at him and jumped, ready to crush his ribcage with a fell stomp. While adult rexes were not really equipped to jump at long distances due to their weight and body structure, the teen was able to do so because he was young.

"Geronimo!" he cried out, feet close to his body and ready to do a hard landing.

Unfortunately, Diablo looked up to see the incoming attack. At the last second, he rolled out of the way and got back onto his feet. Terrence's landing was instead on the cold, hard ground. Dust and grass kicked up in a tiny cloud before dissipating. Crouched and legs slightly buckled, he groaned as he slowly got back to his standing posture.

"Ow! My feet..." he squealed, wincing in pain. His twenty-five foot high jump had all but failed at hitting his target.

To add on to the torture, the _Carnotaurus_ used this moment to his advantage. What was Terrence's loss was now his gain. Diablo rushed up to the unsuspecting teen and grabbed onto his back using his jaws. His teeth penetrated through the weaker hide of the rex, now drawing bits of blood.

The younger male sibling screeched in surprise. Jolts of agony shot through his body from the feel of something sharp gripping on his back. The bloody teeth marks ripped into his flesh, creating streaks of red that begun to run down his body.

"Get...off...of...me!" Terrence yanked away from his oppressor. With each pull, the grip on him only got tighter. So much so that his ribs were now getting crushed. The familiar sound of bones breaking reverberated through the air. The rex desperately tried to escape, but each quick movement and jerk only worsened Diablo's hold on him. Terrence was now a sitting duck, and his ribs were now fractured, if not near-broken already.

Suddenly, he felt the burden on his back alleviate. The armored dinosaur raised his head and let out a pained cry. The budding king scrambled away from the large predator and turned around to see what had saved him. To his relief, he saw the figure of his sister at Diablo's rear.

While he had no time to think about how she got there so quickly, he was happy she was there to help. It was a good thing too, rather than using her ferocity on him over something so little. The female sibling had bitten onto the monster's left thigh, giving Terrence the distraction he needed to escape.

"Release me you damn wench!" Diablo commanded as he so desperately tried to yank his leg away.

As if getting on the leg wasn't enough, the other rex companion charged in. This time, he did not miss on his attack. Terrence's bacteria-filled maw opened to reveal his lethal teeth. He bit onto the horned bull's nape, giving him the same crushing force he had given him when he was getting bitten on the back. Blood oozed out from his wounds, painting his underside and the grass a shade of sickly red.

Diablo was trapped. The two rexes had him in their reach. They hung on to him tight, preventing him from escaping from their gaping mouths. A single pull made them bite down harder, almost to the point where they would shatter his bones. What was once a powerful predator on the verge of delivering a long awaited revenge was now a frightened animal trying to free himself from the clutches of two equally powerful opponents.

Then, out of nowhere, something small had appeared out of the corner of his eye. Through his peripheral vision, he could make out the familiar form of a human dressed in a grey T-shirt hoodie. In her arms was one of those tranquilizer guns. She stood there, in between the rexes, poised and ready to fire.

Due to her cast impeding on the proper use of the gun, Hazel had to resort to using another way to hold the weapon. She situated the thick end of the rifle onto her right shoulder. Her casted arm gripped onto the top, preventing it from falling. As for her left hand, she had to hug it tight towards her shoulder, just to get her index finger on the trigger. While it looked uncomfortable, it was beneficent in the fact that she was no longer hastily trying to adjust herself on the gun.

"That's right you two!" she told the rexes. "Just hold him steady!"

Hazel raised the gun and aimed it once more at Diablo. Because Terrence was in the way at his nape, and it would take another three minutes for her to at least get to the other side of the large carnivore, she chose a more convenient spot to target. She maneuvered the nozzle until it was pointed directly at the left on his underside. Choosing his thorax area seemed like a probable choice, if it weren't for all of the horns that jutted out like little spikes. Those would be able to repel the dart, and probably break the needle.

The human inhaled and exhaled slowly. She wasn't counting on how many darts she had left in the gun. But she treated this as if it were her last shot nonetheless. The large meat-eater squirmed in the grips of the two teenaged rexes, eager to escape their clutches and Hazel's firing range. Her finger graced the icy, metal trigger on the gun.

Hazel pressed the switch. The sound it emitted was like a little bang, but that was of least concern. She watched as the dart with pink feathers soared through the air. The needle-like device spun, creating a twirling motion as it sailed towards its destination.

Fate would have made Diablo duck under and allow the dart to hit one of his little horns. Fate would have also made him break free of the twins' grasps. Fate would have even allowed it to graze the top of his back, missing him by an inch. But no...fate was on the side of good once more.

The dart hit Diablo's underside, piercing him on one of the stab wounds he received from his previous bout with Aladar.

"Gah!" Diablo screamed as he felt the cold needle inject into his skin.

Hazel let out a whoop along with a cheer. She raised her left fist up on the victory she had just pulled. The girl then ran up to the predators, gun now in its original position on her arms. The dart may have hit Diablo, but now came the waiting game.

The twins saw the whole thing happen. The dart hitting their target told them their sister-figure had done it. Terrence and Matilda knew full well how these tranquilizer weapons worked. It would take some time for the victim to fall into a deep slumber. Because Diablo was bigger than them, the human magic would take a while to work. The both of them winked at each other, signaling themselves on what should be done next.

The _Carnotaurus_ began to tip over on his side. The teenaged carnivores were utilizing their strength to topple him over. A downward stroke from their heads and in unison was all it took to bring the giant down. Once again on the ground, Diablo roared at them and tried to get back onto his feet. Only this time, he was not able to. Both twins put a foot on his body and pushed, preventing him from moving at all.

Hazel arrived before the fallen carnivore. She made sure to steer clear of his wild-moving feet. Stand too close to those enormous talons and she would be ripped to shreds. The girl stood before the giant and watched as his movements became more relaxed until he barely moved at all.

Diablo jerked under their combined weight. He lay on there like some helpless animal. To make matters worse for him, he could feel his body start to become numb with the passing minutes. Due to his large size, the tranquilizer's chemicals worked slower than usual. Normally, it would take just a few minutes for an animal to become fully sedated. But a creature of his size was delaying the effects. This problem was easily rectified with the Twins holding him down.

In no time at all, the chemicals performed the extent of the job. It first started with his chest. Then it moved to his legs and tail. Pretty soon, he could barely move his arms at all.

The numbing sensation also took away all sense of feel. He could no longer feel the ground he was on. No longer could he sense the wind that passed by over him. He could barely feel the touch of the teenaged rexes feet on his body. The human magic was working through his body, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Nice job guys," Hazel congratulated and glanced at them before looking back at Diablo.

"Insignificant children! You don't know who you are dealing with! I am the most feared predator in all the land!" Diablo spat at them.

Terrence laughed uncontrollably then faced his sister. "Hey sis, you listening to this goon? He says that he's the baddest thing alive! Either that, or I think I may have some of the dirt he kicked up in my ear."

"Oh I heard Terrence," she playfully agreed. "But I think all that punishment we gave him is making him a bit loopy. Don't you think? I mean, the name _Tyrannosaurus rex_ literally means 'tyrant lizard king'. In other words, 'feared predator in all the land' my ass!"

Diablo lunged for the female rex's ankle. Matlida saw this coming and counteracted by moving her foot from his chest onto his face. His head now being shoved on the ground, the Carnotaur could not do anything but watch as the Twins and the human stared him down like an insect.

"These humans took you away from your lives! You should be furious that they have taken you from your homeland!" he retorted to the siblings with rage.

"Actually," Terrence started, causing the older predator to eye him intently for his answer. "Our parents died a long time ago. Dad died some time after we hatched, and Mom died when one of our kind killed her over some food."

"Not to mention we would have gotten our butts fried by that gigantic ball of fire that appeared after that if it weren't for Nigel," the young dinosaur queen added, recalling the time of their rescue years ago. "We may have been born in the past, but after Nigel saved us, he took care of us. The present IS our homeland!"

She then pressed his face harder onto the ground, giving the horned meat-eater a message about their saviors. Matilda lowered her head until she was mere inches from his ear. Her hot breath wafted against his face, teeth at the ready to tear him apart should he attempt to pull a fast one. "So if I were you, I'd think twice about what you say about the humans here. It's thanks to them that all of us, including you, are alive."

He watched the rex's head retreat before he let out his complaint. "I never thought I would be taken out like this...at the hands of children and a human!" he blurted out as he tried to struggle once more. The drug was running his course through his body, limiting his movements. What were once jerky movements were not just minor twitches.

Hazel let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh come on! Seriously, why does everyone think some tranquilizer dart is going to kill them? We're not that cruel!"

Getting that out of her system, she focused on the matter more important at hand. Victory was on their side, however, Hazel knew there was something she needed to settle first. Diablo went on this rampage all because he desired payback for the death of his mate and the hardships they went through in the past. The human felt sorry for him, even though he caused a lot of trouble this day. She wanted to let her feelings be known to him.

"I've already said this before, and I hope this is the last time I'll say it. WE DIDN'T KILL YOUR MATE! The one who killed her died under the same rocks that killed her in the past!"

Diablo let out a sharp snort, his view on the matter indifferent. "But you contributed to her death AND my revenge was thwarted by those leaf-suckers you call your friends!"

Hazel furrowed her eyes at him. How much is it going to take to convince this guy that their encounter was merely coincidental? "Look, we were only doing what we needed to survive! You were about to kill my friends, twice! We were doing what we had to in order to escape. None of us knew about your plight!"

She took in a deep breath, absorbing as much pride as she could to defend her and her friends' innocence. "I am sorry about the whole mess we put you and your mate through. There are times when I think back to that time on what I could have done differently. I stood there like a coward, not wanting to quell the battle all because of my fear of getting squashed by the rocks. I should have taken action...to save your mate…and Bruton."

Hazel gritted her teeth when she began to recall the last moments of their savior branded killer that night. Bruton was only doing what he had to in order to allow everyone to escape. Giving up his own life just to take out an enemy's was his choice. If Hazel had the power to go back to that time to prevent that from happening, she would have done so. But then that would mean messing with the rules on time travel. The theory on meeting your past self was one that was debatable to this day, but no one would want to test that theory. Doing so would not only alter the timeline significantly, but who knew what other kinds of chaos would occur.

Diablo looked away from the human. His vision was now beginning to blur. He felt the drug now affecting the rest of his body, his mind included. In mere moments, he would be unconscious. From what he had left in the waking world, he considered the girl's defense. They fought him and his mate only for survival. The plant-eaters were trying to escape, while he and his love needed their meat to regain their strength. There were no rules against that kind of thing, for it was the law of their world. Eat or be eaten. That was all they knew.

Back in the canyon, he was driven by madness and the desire to live. He wanted to avenge the death of the one he truly cared about. If the herbivores were intent on ending his life, they would have done so at that mere moment. But no, they fended him off, not individually but as one group. Then there was the former herd leader at the top of the cliff. Diablo had no idea he was the leader at that time and only viewed him as an easy meal. Aladar, Neera, and their flyer friend arriving to do battle with him was only to defend one of their own. True, they were trying to kill him by pushing him off a cliff, but their intentions were pure.

Finally, there was the human herself. Even though she contributed to the fight, she saved him nonetheless. Thinking back to that moment, he realized that she must have known about a carnivore's place in the cycle of life. He figured that the human along with the rest of her kind knew that predators were not evil by nature, at least not all of them. Diablo wanted to think more on this, to see if she truly did understand that. But with his consciousness fading, he had no time.

"I am not sure if you know full well of the purpose of a carnivore or not, but I will tell you regardless," he began to tell her with every last bit of his strength, his movements becoming more sluggish as time went on. "My mate and I were only doing what we must to live. We do not kill for sport. We are not considered evil. We only take life because Nature has gifted us with our claws and our teeth to rend flesh. We only kill what we need to sustain ourselves. Therefore, we...along with every single carnivore, do not kill for sheer entertainment. You were not raised in my world, so I do not expect you to understand the delicate balance of Hunter and Hunted. We are innocent in our own right. Consider my words...before you decide to go on your...rescues…"

With that said, Diablo let out a final breath before relaxing. His eyes slowly closed and his vision gradually began to darken. The world around him faded away into nothingness as he fell into unconsciousness.

The Twins released their hold on their fallen target and reared their heads up to the sky. They opened their lethal jaws and roared triumphantly. The valley echoed with the sounds of primeval cries of the teenaged tyrannosaurs. The sound was deafening, as loud as hundreds of gunshots being fired at the same time.

Hazel watched them with satisfaction. The battle was theirs. The victory belonged to not one, but two rexes. Diablo was defeated and the valley was safe once more.

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Nearby, Nigel and the rest of the keepers had just arrived on the few vehicles they had left to calm the stampede of the other Residents. The majority of their jeeps were trashed by Diablo, and has hindered the park employees' response time of handling the situation. Armed with stun guns and tranquilizers, they readied themselves to sedate or temporarily shock any prehistoric creature that was about to cause damage. The jeeps roared as they sped towards the chaos. All of the animals flurried in all directions, making the huge group seem disorganized.

Nigel, who was at the front of the brigade, knew that this job was going to be a difficult one. He had to order each and every staff member in the park to come to his aid. Even a number of the vets, accompanied them to inspect any wounds that occurred at this time. The others, including Suzanne, were left at the Vet's Surgery building, preparing the area for any injured animals that needed tending to.

No one was equipped with the same communicator Hazel had before. Marcus had not yet made enough for everyone. In fact, he was the only one to help with getting the animals to calm down, if not Hazel. Sadly, her presence was not here. The young keeper was elsewhere, trying to fight off the _Carnotaurus_ before he could cause any more damage. He found no sign of a little Asian in a gray shirt running around the place. A good thing too, considering she would have been squashed by those gigantic feet or impaled by stray spikes.

Speaking of that carnivore, Nigel could not find the giant horned predator anywhere. They drove pretty much through the entire park, trying to track down the stampede. Although the enclosures were now broken, he found no sign of a crimson predator. The only other clue they discovered was a trail of bloody splotches that led to the Valley sector.

Nigel, and by extent every staff member, worried that one of the Residents may have been the source of the bloody trail. They may have been seriously injured, or worse...they may be at the brink of death. He also found it odd that it led to that area too. He did not know whether it belonged to one of the Residents in the park or if it came from one of the members of the herd. Regardless of the situation, this prompted them to get to the Valley with haste. Time was now against them.

"Clever bastard…" he cursed under his breath when he thought more about that. Putting the pieces together, he found that the predator must have injured one of the animals and then set it free so that he would be led to the Valley sector, to where the herd was. "I hope Hazel's okay."

"Nigel!" someone off to his right called.

He turned to see one of the keepers, a thirty year old man with auburn hair and wearing the Prehistoric Park uniform, approach him. He stopped just a few feet from his boss and gasped for air. The stun gun he brought with him dangled on his back from side to side on the strap.

"Kevin! What is it?" he asked him, recalling the name of one of the keepers that had been here for years.

"Good news and bad news," he breathed out, now looking at the zoologist in the eye.

"Well spit it out!" Nigel demanded hurriedly, although he regretted saying that in a hasty manner. "We have a stampede to stop!"

The employee inhaled then spoke as clearly as he could against his tired breaths. "Good news is...Diablo's been taken care of."

He then pointed over to his back with his thumb. "Hazel's there. She's already sedated him."

Nigel looked over and sighed in relief. Just a fair distance away from the lake was Hazel, standing just before the fallen form of the horned carnivore. His joy at seeing his student safe and well was replaced by a sense of concern when he noticed what else was with her. The two forms he noticed were big predators that sported a gray hide and a leaner body build. He watched as they reared their heads back and let out roars of their own.

"The bad news is...the Twins are out and it looks like they're going to eat Diablo!" Kevin pointed out. He grabbed for the gun at his back and swung it around him. Now close to his chest, he placed his hands at the ready positions for attack.

"Sir, give me the order and I can have a group of keepers, along with myself, head over there and stop them before they do something nasty!"

Analyzing the sight further, Nigel noticed the Twins look over at the human that was with them. Not surprisingly to him, they began to converse with her. Hazel may be far from him, but he could see that she had no fear on her face. The incoming fear in his stomach ebbed away and was replaced with satisfaction.

He turned to his associate and placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. Just focus on trying to stop the stampede here."

"Are you sure?" he questioned his decision.

Nigel gave him a reassuring smile. "Hazel's got this under control."

Kevin watched in astonishment as his leader left his side to join in the crazed stampede. Not wanting to think on it further due to the situation at hand, he joined Nigel and proceeded to try to calm the Residents and the herd.

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Back with Hazel…

The rexes, now finished with their victory roars, looked at the human with content. Their hard work done, they awaited for any other words, or judgment, she had to offer. With Diablo now unconscious, neither of them were in any immediate danger. However, they knew that there was one last thing that must be taken cared of.

"Thanks guys," the girl told them.

"No Hazel," Matilda shook her head and eyed her twin. "Thank you, for slapping some sense into us."

"Well...I really didn't do anything," she chuckled and then hoisted the gun over her shoulder.

All of them stared at the downed predator when they heard a hint of a snore. The drug had already taken its hold over him. It would be hours before he would wake up again. Even though this was a victory, they had also caused a bit of a mess to the scenery. The ground he rested on was mildly covered with dark red from the blood that ran down his wounds. But that was of minor concern.

"So now what?" Terrence spoke up, wanting to know what they were going to do next.

"Well…" Hazel quipped and kicked at the gigantic carnivore in the stomach once to make sure he was really out cold. "Once everything's calmed down, we're going to have to transport this guy to one of the holding pens. He'll be there for a while, at least until the necessary repairs are done to his enclosure. Then the vets can take care of him while he's asleep."

"But what about us?" Matilda asked her, causing the human to turn her attention to the two rexes.

"Oh! Right!" she exclaimed. She remembered what she told them before this whole fiasco started. "There's still the matter of your rewards. As promised, you two get three times the amount of meat each meal for three months and you'll be returned to your former enclosures."

The siblings said nothing to that. The fact that they were off the hook pleased them. Now they were no longer burdened by the constant watch from the other keepers on their behavior. However, they were not really too keen on that.

Both of them looked back at each other instead of saying something. Matilda shook her head at him, telling her twin to say something to her. Terrence got the gist of it, but did the same to his sister. This went on for at least a few more seconds before the female rex was chosen at the speaker.

Hazel watched curiously as Matilda leaned down until she was at her eye level. "Actually...about our living space..."

The human listened intently as the Twins told her of the request they had planned. Although it was last minute, she had no argument against their wishes. Things were starting to look up once more.


	25. Damage Control

When someone thinks of the term "sauropod", they would recall those dinosaurs with long necks and enormous bodies casually grazing on the leaves of high treetops. They could be viewed as elevated giants, tall enough to see anything for miles. Or they could be viewed as long and slender with whip-like tails that could easily break a predator in two. In any case, they were always thought of as gentle giants.

Except when they were in a stampede. The earth shaking along other dinosaurs and mammals scrambling away to avoid getting crushed by their immense weights made them just as dangerous as carnivores.

Baylene gasped as a fellow _Borealosaurus_ rushed passed her. For the last few minutes, she had been trying to calm her new companions of the resolved situation. Just moments ago, she witnessed two other predators take down the _Carnotaurus_ that caused this mess in a frenzied battle. She would have freaked out and evacuated the valley if it were not for the presence of Hazel. Seeing her speaking with the slender-built grey carnivores eased her worries.

While the problem had already been resolved, the eloquent _Brachiosaurus_ wanted so desperately to stop the stampede. She could not bear to see her own relations, even though they were not her exact species, causing this much chaos. All around her, members of her herd, Residents, a small number of lemurs, and even humans skittered about, either trapped in the disorder or trying to end it.

"Dears! Please! The predator has been taken cared of! Everything is all right now!" Baylene tried to reason with the Titanosaur Flock.

If any of them heard the elder macronarian, they gave no indication of it. The younger sauropods screamed and bellowed at the thought of getting eaten by a giant predator. Shian, the one who had been attacked by Diablo, was the one that was frightened the most.

"Oh sweet Maker! He's going to eat us! He's going to eat us!" she screamed out in one breath.

"It's all over! We're going to die!" a male added to the chaos.

"We are not going to die!" Baylene tried to voice out the truth in a much louder tone. She kept looking back and forth as the sauropods sprinted all around her. The old woman made sure not to be too close to any of them while they were in this state. Accidental collisions would do a number on her body. "Hazel has already taken care of your pursuer! There is nothing to be afraid of!"

Just then, the _Brachiosaurus_ noticed another Titanosaur muscle her way passed the frantic members of the flock. They paid no mind to their fellow flock associate as they were more focused on getting eaten by a giant predator. This one was similar in build and form to the others, except for one main difference. Along her nostril ridge was a single red streak.

"Yin! Thank goodness you're alright!"

"Likewise," Yin gasped. Like her second-in-command Zhao, she had been rushing around the area, trying to prevent the herd from harming any Residents or humans and even putting a stop to the destruction they were accidentally causing. "My apologies for the horrid situation. My flock is usually more manageable, but they get easily frazzled about anything!"

"Oh these poor dears," Baylene took pity on them. The two towering sauropods narrowly dodged an incoming titanosaur that was shaking his neck wildly and screaming his head off like child. "I have been trying to tell them that everything was alright, but none of them would listen."

The head of the sauropod Flock shook her head in disdain. "Zhao and I have been trying to do the same. Unfortunately, all of this fright has caused them to ignore us.

"Ugh, desperate times call for desperate measures," the head _Borealosaurus_ groaned then looked over at her fellow companion. "Baylene, would you like to help me calm the masses? I would try to call them to a stop, but their screaming might overpower my voice. But perhaps two can do the job?"

"Oh anything to stop this madness!" the towering elder shook her head in quick agreement.

Both gentle behemoths reared their heads back and trumpeted their symphonious baritone voices. One voice may have been enough to stall a whole herd of sauropods from their actions, but with the mess that was going on, that plan would not have worked out very well. With Baylene's help, their part of the destruction was settled. The titanosaurs, including the Residents and herd members that were in the fray in their area, ceased stampeding. Even a number of the _Plateosaurus, Iguanodons, Struthiomimus, Ornithomimus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Styracosaurus,_ a few _Parasaurolophus_ , the few lemurs, some of the elephants, and the miniscule _Microceratus_ stopped what they were doing at the sound of the call. All eyes fell on the vigil leader and elder companion.

The keepers that were in the area were puzzled at the sudden ceasefire. Neither of them had the commodity of a communicator in their ears to determine what was happening. What they did know was that part of the destruction the rampaging animals caused occurred no longer. Thankfully, no one got hurt, save for a few bumps and bruises from colliding against the animals in an effort to get them to calm down. Some of them were even about to use their tranquilizers to sedate them, but did not have to due to Baylene and Yin's interference.

This went on for the next minute or so before everyone, at least most of them on their side, gave them undivided attention. The dust and grass they kicked up no longer lingered in the air. Gasps and heavy breathing escaped the maws of the prehistoric beings. Heat from the day and exhaustion from running had done a number on their bodies, but they did little to show any of it.

"Everyone! Please calm yourselves!" Yin proclaimed. "In our attempts to escape danger, we have caused destruction along the way. Look upon the mess we have caused!"

Residents of various species looked around them and took on the dramatically different surroundings. What was once a pristine lakeshore looked like a weathered land, nearly devoid of any vegetation. Massive footprints, pools of blood, and rocks moved about lay just about everywhere. While that portion of the valley was nearly decimated, there were no signs of lifeless bodies on the terrain. All of them were thankful that no one died.

"There is nothing to be afraid of everyone," Baylene added then craned her head over to an area nearby. The multitude of Residents and the herd members present followed her. Their eyes widened when they took on the view of the defeated _Carnotaurus_ and the victorious Rexes that were conversing with the human they had gotten to know at a personal level. "Dear young Hazel has quelled the source of the trouble."

The sentient creatures looked on as the result of a quarry they never even witnessed. Judging from the injuries the predators had taken, along with a tiny, nearly impossible to see tranquilizer dart, there was a huge battle that had occurred. Whatever the Rexes and the human female were conversing about was anyone's guess. The expressions they bore were of satisfaction and content. In their minds, they reflected on the trouble that followed after the giant predator attacked them. Worry for the safety of everyone else and shame on what they had done were very much apparent at the moment.

The ruminations were interrupted when Yin cleared her throat loudly. She made eye contact to a specific sauropod within the mass, one that tried to hide behind a group of others of her kind. The female _Borealosaurus_ lowered her head and ducked under to get herself out of sight from her leader's watchful eye. Unfortunately, she was not fooling anyone.

"Shian, step forward," Yin commanded.

Almost immediately, the sauropods and others that were with them parted away to reveal the timid and embarrassed young female. Her face contorted in mild discomfort from the new wound she obtained. Every step she took sent stings through her leg and body. Thankfully, she was not limping from the injury. A single bite was not enough to take a giant of her size down.

The keepers, though confused as to why they were doing this, observed as the timid longneck made her way before her leader. They were on the very edge of the mass, silently watching the event unfold. None of them got injured, but they were satisfied that the stampede on this portion was over.

The sole titanosaur lowered her head submissively when she was before the leader of her Flock. Although quietly, she spoke out to voice her answer on Yin's command. "Yes Yin?"

"Let me see your leg," she blatantly ordered, albeit politely.

On command, the younger female slowly turned her back to the two giants. She made sure her tail did not hit anyone in the vicinity by curling it when needed. That did not stop the rest of the audience from backing away with caution. No one wanted to be caught in a whip-crack and have their bones broken, or even split in two. Those that were smaller than the behemoth had no need to worry, as the slender appendage passed over them gracefully.

Both Baylene and Yin peered down at the injury Shian gained from the ruthless carnivore. The bite was of significant size, but the injury itself was not too deep. Blood dripped from the teeth marks in small streams. The wound encompassed a large portion of her thigh but not all of it. The shape itself was of a fat oblong, in contrast of a bite made by the more slender carnivores they encountered before arriving in Prehistoric Park. In hindsight, the wound itself was minor.

"That monster was eating me alive!" Shian whined like a little girl.

"Come now dear," Baylene soothed. "It isn't all that bad. Why, the humans here can heal it promptly."

"Also, if that creature was eating you, then we would be seeing much more than a single bite on a leg," Yin sharply remarked.

The young sauropod took in a gulp. "I…I'm sorry Yin. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused."

The leader brought her great neck up. Taking on the stature of a leader, she looked down upon her associate with revered authority. "Don't apologize to me. You need to apologize to everyone."

Just then, screams were heard off in the other direction of their position. Everyone turned to their right, or left in Baylene, Yin, and Shian's vantage point, to see what was happening. Confusion became very apparent when they noticed a _Therizinosaurus_ chase after a screaming duo, consisting of a _Triceratops_ and an _Ornithomimus_. To anyone in the large group that had been in the park for so long, they could tell who the attacker and the victims were.

How the chase started, neither of them knew. All they knew was that they were headed straight for the crowd of frightened dinosaurs and mammals that were not with them.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Someone help us!" Theo screamed after narrowly dodging a swipe of those large vicious claws.

"We didn't mean to bother you Bruno! We were just trying to get away from that new carnivore was all!" Axel added.

"THREE-HORN AND RUNNER WILL PAY FOR HURTING BRUNO!" cried the pot-bellied warrior. The earth rumbled and the air was filled with screams as the chase was brought onto the still continuing chaos nearby.

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While part of the stampede had subsided, the rest of the chaotic mass was still in disarray. Back and forth, the Residents and herd members ran. A number of them had already sustained injuries from each other. It was a miracle that none of them were lying on the ground, seriously wounded or dead. The exceptions being the more dangerous Residents that had to be sedated due to not cooperating with the humans' pleas to calm down. The prime example being the _Therizinosaurus_. Though the troubled prehistoric denizens did obtain bruises, a few broken bones, scrapes, and scratches from the fray.

The keepers were doing the best they could to restrain the mess. Marcus helped in the effort by using a megaphone to help bring a number of the panicked creatures towards the other side of the lake shore. Bob and Suzanne soon arrived with some more reinforcements along with a number of vets to contribute to the effort. The vets were led to the Residents that escaped the chaos and were now busy with checking up on their injuries.

Neera, being the only alpha available to contain the stampede, was doing all she could to help. She had been going around the perimeter of the large mass, hollering orders for them to stop. Sometimes, she even had to bellow at her loudest to get their attention. Without her mate's help, the job was that much harder. While she did make some progress in easing the tension, there were some that were scared out of their wits that would need to be taken care of up close. There would always be one stray Resident or herd member to disrupt the peace, thus continuing the arduous task of relieving the frenzy.

But while parts of the turmoil were being subdued, some individuals were having problems of their own. Loved ones were separated from each other. Passing dinosaurs blocked parents from reaching their children and vice versa. Children would sometimes accidentally get in the way of passing adults that were caught up in the turmoil and get kicked around. That was what was happening to Embo and his mate Naomi when they were trying to find the children they took in as their own.

"Nolan!" Naomi called the eldest. She carefully maneuvered her way through some frantic _Pachyrhinosaurus_ and _Microceratus_ in her search for him. "Nolan, where are you!?"

At the same time, her mate was calling for the younger brother of the twins. He too was making his way through the ceratopsians along with his mate. "Rowyn!? Rowyn my boy! Can you hear me!?"

Suddenly, a large group of youngsters came their way off to their right. The individuals were made up of mostly _Iguanodons_ , but they could make out some ceratopsians and _Parasaurolophus_ too. They were frantically trying to escape a frightened group of adult _Parasaurolophus_. The screams and shrieks were deafening to their ears. Seeing the younglings come at them made them worry about their boys being in the crèche. If Nolan and Rowyn were there, then they were in danger of being squashed to death by those large feet.

They got in the middle of that part of the stampede and began pushing the adults away from the children. The hadrosaurs yelped in surprise at the sudden shoves, but that tactic was successful in getting the kids out of harm's way.

As they pushed and shoved the incoming hadrosaurs, and soon other elephants and _Iguanodons_ , they searched each and every youngling for a sign of their boys. Sadly, they did not find any trace of their adopted sons. This worried the parents even more, and their calls became more desperate.

"Embo, none of these children are ours!" the lighter-skinned female cried in anguish. Tears began to form in her eyes when their search was starting to become fruitless.

"Don't worry!" he shouted through the loud gallops of the others. "We'll find them!"

"Nolan! Rowyn!" she once again called, this time at the top of her voice. "Where are you!? Please, give us a sign that you're alright!"

Just then, after moments of heavy stomping and frantic cries, they heard something that lifted their spirits. The voices were faint because of the chaos around them, but they recognized them nonetheless. Listening for a few more seconds and they found they were the sounds of little boys. At first, they were garbled and thought they were making bellows, but they soon found they were words.

"Mommy!?" the first voice sounded from beyond the wall of _Parasaurolophus_ and _Iguanodons_ towards the direction of the Valley borders. "Mommy is that you!?"

"We're over here!" a second, one that was lighter in pitch came next.

Naomi gasped. Her boys were okay. Peering through the wall of scared adults, she could make out the faint image of two _Iguanodon_ boys scrambling about in fear. They were surrounded by numerous adults, close to being trampled to death.

Being small in size did have its advantages. They were able to maneuver around those giant feet and duck under those great girths. But the real problems came in the form of an unlucky obstacle coming, a wrong step, or loss of stamina. Whatever the case, they needed to get out of there.

Naomi pushed one of the _Iguanodon_ adults away and bounded towards the frightened boys. The adult, apparently another female, grunted as she nearly stumbled onto the ground. Adrenaline rushed through her body like flash flood. She lost her children once, she did not want to lose them again.

"Hold on boys!" she veered away from some passing ceratopsians. "I'm coming!"

Embo noticed his mate hurrying to the boys' position. While the stampede on his side was already over and the other younglings were safe to retreat, he worried about his family's safety. He hurried to them to protect those he cared about. "Naomi wait!"

Getting to the twins was easy for the new mother. All she had to do was push and shove the frantic Residents away. The elephants and _Styracosaurus_ were a bit tricky as she had to make sure she was not in the way of those long tusks and horns. Those around her scurried away as she made her way to her adopted sons. Some _Microceratus_ and other younglings shrieked when she stormed passed them. Naomi had to take care not to accidentally squish them either. Once she heaved one of the startled _Plateosaurus_ away, she finally made it to the ones she wanted to save.

"Mommy!" Rowyn cried tears of joy.

"No time boys! We have to get out of here!" she told them, pushing them away with her head in the direction of the hills. The boys quickly complied and ran with their mother. Coming close to them was Embo, who was ready to defend his family at all costs.

The family stayed together when they escaped the frenzy. The children huddled close to their new mother and father as they ran to safety. The adult ornithopods used their strength to push aside any incoming obstacles as they made their way to safety. The seconds turned into minutes. What was supposed to have not lasted too long became more extensive due to the amount of Residents still trying to escape. Each breakthrough they made only resulted in them running in the other direction.

Naomi and Embo had to veer the children away when a stray _Parasaurolophus_ was being chased by some panicky elephants. They had narrowly made it alive by the last second as the huge mammals charged passed them. A group of four keepers on a jeep even chased after the xenophobic elephants, tranquilizers in hand. The humans yelled at them to stop and disappeared into the rest of the chaotic mass. The family of _Iguanodons_ let out a relieved breath; their ordeal finally over. Or so they thought.

Squawks and shrieks sounded from their right. When they looked over, they were horrified to see a group of terrified _Struthiomimus_ and _Ornithomimus_ coming straight at them. Unlike the other Residents, who were easy to deal with because of their sheer size, these fleet-footed runners had the power of speed. The _Iguanodon_ family did not know it, but these runners were running in their direction due to one of the _Therizinosaurus_ chasing them off by chopping down one of the trees a few ways from them. No doubt they were scared to death at the sight of a large, pot-bellied, prehistoric feathered creature with scythes for claws.

Nolan and Rowyn screamed for dear life. They shut their eyes in an effort to not look at their death in the face. Being trampled to death by fast-moving bird mimics meant an instant death in their minds. The brothers huddled together, heads close to their bodies, and hoped that their parents would protect them.

Naomi and Embo stood their ground. Gritting their teeth, they awaited for the fast approaching arrival of the runners. They would not let these creatures take their family away, and they would certainly not die today. They crouched and brought one hoof up as they prepared to swipe any runner coming close to their sons.

That preparation was foiled when the ornithopods noticed a blur of brown fur jump right across their field of vision. They only had a few seconds to figure out that they were two muscular felines with elongated fangs. The mammals crouched down and then shot their heads up in the air. Primeval roars filled the air like an explosion.

If Sabrina and _César_ appeared menacing to any passersby at their enclosure, then they were terrifying when they were in hunter mode. _Smilodons_ were born to take down large prey and make quick work of them with their fangs. They were among the top predators in the Age of Mammals thanks to those traits. Though their true intent was not to eat anyone, but rather to defend their new companions from being trampled to death.

Their roars and fearsome appearance worked in how they planned it. The _Struthiomimus_ and _Ornithomimus_ diverted in both ways around the family. Dust and dirt filled the air as they passed them harmlessly. Thundering feet, squawks, and shrieks echoed until they died away as they passed.

Naomi and her mate could not believe what they were seeing. Sure, they only known Sabrina and César for a short period of time, but coming in to rescue them was unlike any predator they had ever seen. Rather than minding their own business, they went all this way just to save their hides. In their minds, they were happy to see that Hazel's words on predators not all being bad was true after all.

The stampede lasted for another minute or so before the last runner left the vicinity. At this point, the chaos they had just escaped before was ebbing away too. They could hear Neera giving out commands to every Resident and herd member to get to the other side of the lake shore. With the last of the stampede gone, the cats relaxed and the air once again became quiet.

"And that's what you get for eating at my grass!" César roared before shaking his shoulders to relax the muscle tension.

Nolan and Rowyn opened their eyes immediately when the male cat said that. The boys were stunned when they felt that no harm had come to them. Slowly looking around, they noticed the trampled grass and misplaced dirt near where they were at. The adults did the same and observed what else had happened. Off in the distance, they could see a crowd of humans gathered around the fallen bodies of all the _Therizinosaurus._ At first, they thought they were dead, until they noticed the slow rise and fall of their chests. They also noted the feathered needle-like projection at the base of their necks; no doubt the humans used those odd weapons to put them to sleep. Other than that sight, no one in the area was mortally wounded.

"Whoa…" Nolan gasped. "What happened?"

At that moment, the Saber cats turned around to face the family. The _Iguanodon_ twins cowered and hid behind their adopted mother's back legs. From what they could pick up, the predators in front of them saved their lives. But their reasoning was unknown for them. Naturally, they had that instinctual fear of carnivores, especially when they lost their real parents to Carnotaurs long ago.

"Looks like we came at the nick of time," Sabrina chuckled.

"And not a moment too soon," Embo nodded. "Thank you for saving us."

"Ah it was nothing," the male feline raised his head in a proud manner. "Those big birds chewed on the grass at my favorite napping area. I wanted to get some payback anyway. Too bad I didn't get to solidify the deal by nipping at their legs."

That comment earned him a hard kick to one of his back legs, courtesy of his mate. César winced in pain as those claws dug into his skin. Thankfully, the injury was not that serious. But his dear female companion could pack a punch, especially when it came to him saying the wrong things.

"Ow!"

"Now remember dear," she emphasized in a condescending manner, as if she was scolding a child rather than a full-grown _Smilodon._ "There are rules that forbid us from attacking other Residents. The consequences would be dire."

"What?" her mate snorted with amusement. "I was only kidding."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and was about to retort when she noticed the twins hiding behind Naomi's legs. She smiled and giggled, showing off her predatory incisors and canines. All the more making the boys curl up like balls and shake like leaves.

"So, are they your children?" the female carnivore asked the adults before her.

"Oh…yes. They are," Naomi nodded. Looking back, she gave the boys a reassuring gesture to come on out. "It's okay boys. They're friends. They won't hurt you."

"They're…not going to eat us?" Rowyn trembled with his teeth chattering.

"Of course not," Sabrina serenely assured the youngling. "We just ate a while ago."

"Though all that running made me a bit hungry," César whispered. His offhanded comment earned him a shushing sound from his mate along with another kick to his legs. He once again groaned in pain and sat down to lick at his new bruises.

Right when the boys were about to come out from hiding, two more newcomers came towards them. They watched as two small cubs, looking much like the adult felines except with smaller fangs, ran up to them. Nolan and his brother cowered once more at the arrival of two more carnivores.

"Ah, look who decided to join us," Embo chuckled.

"Hi Mr. Embo," Tai gasped for air.

"Hi Ms. Naomi," Sable added.

They had just come down from the tree they were hiding on during the whole stampede. Sabrina and César told them to stay there, but once they noticed the chaos died down, their curiosity got the best of them. Seeing the adults go after the rampaging runners and diverting the charge amazed them to no end.

"Hiya kids," the navy Iguanodon greeted. "I'm glad to see you two are unharmed."

The male cub nodded in earnest. "Yeah, it was all thanks to Ms. Sabrina and Mr. César that we're still standing."

César huffed and looked away. The adults noticed him trying to hide his face from the children. While he looked like he was uninterested in the comment the children were giving him, the rest of the adults knew that he was attempting to hide a bit of pride. Perhaps there was a soft spot in that feline under all of that muscle.

While Sabrina did the same thing, she could not help but shoot the children a smile before returning her attention to her new companions. She was about to speak when one of the cubs beat her to it.

"Oh hey!" Sable exclaimed when she got a look at Naomi's leg. The little cub caught sight of the two boys that were trying to make themselves invisible from the newcomers. "I didn't see you there!"

Nolan and Rowyn, although still nervous around the friendly predators, started to walk out from behind their adopted mother. Curiosity got the best of them, and they wanted to get a closer look at these young cubs. Their steps were slow but tepid. Tai and Sable, excited to get to know these boys, stifled their emotions and allowed the boys to come closer.

The _Iguanodon_ twins circled around the cubs. They sniffed at them, peered at their features, even poked at them a little with their hooves. All the while making the cubs giggle.

"What are you?" Rowyn wondered.

"And who are you?" Nolan seconded. The boys stood in front of the cubs, finished with their impromptu observation.

"Well I'm Tai," the first cub on the right went.

"And I'm Sable," the second came next.

"We're twins!" they both said together. "And we're Saber-tooth cats!"

Hearing the word "twins" made the curiosity within the ornithopod children skyrocket. These individuals seemed okay enough to be around. Not to mention they seemed to be the playful types. They were also around their age. Their parents looked like they met these kids before and deemed them safe too.

"Wow really!?" the darker-toned ornithischian exclaimed in surprise. "We're twins too!"

"I'm Rowyn," the one with lighter skin introduced, now bearing a tentative smile. "And that's my older brother, Nolan."

The next few minutes were spent on getting to know each other, mostly for the children. Back and forth, they exchanged questions. Where did they come from? What did they eat? How did they get there? Questions like those were apparently not enough to sate their curiosities. The adults stood there, quiet and proudly watching the children in this state. After all the turmoil they went through that afternoon, this was the break they needed.

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Long minutes of cooperative work between different species greatly helped in soothing the mayhem. Families were once again reunited. Uncontrollable Residents, specifically the Therizinosaurs that were knocked out by the tranquilizers, were being attended to. Those that received injuries, whether they be minor or grievous, were getting looked at by the various veterinarians in the scene. Other than a few blood spills, gashes, and a few dislocated bones, everyone was safe. Peace had once again returned.

Neera paced around the gathered mass of dinosaurs she helped lead to safety. Thanks to her and the humans' efforts, the giant herd had been led to the other side of the lake shore where they could calm down. The area where they madly tread on looked severely worn down like a small natural disaster hit. But it was something that time could fix.

Neera was also glad that a number of her friends were okay. Baylene was with the Titanosaurs on the other lakeshore, making sure that the other group of frantic Residents were okay. The lemurs were all in the surrounding forests, taking refuge in the trees. Thanks to their speed and nimble movements, they were able to escape the danger in time.

The _Iguanodon_ only saw a glimpse of her friends Naomi and Embo. The last she saw of them, they managed to get their sons out of the crowd. Her duties as a leader tending to her herd took her attention away from them, but she deduced they were alright. Her thoughts were confirmed when she noticed the family interacting with the Saber-tooth cats she met earlier, including the children playing with each other.

Talk of the cause of the rampage spread through the herd and Residents like wildfire. The Carnotaur escaping was indeed a problem, but it was one that everyone found was easily solved. No one could believe it when they saw two equally powerful predators take down a vicious behemoth like him. That was until they saw Hazel speaking with the carnivores on the other side of the lake shore. Diablo lay before them, unconscious with injuries he obtained from the twin Rexes. Diablo's defeat was a great relief to everyone, but there was one thing that still worried the alpha female.

"Talin?" she called for her eldest son.

The fuchsia _Iguanodon_ pushed her way passed some meandering _Styracosaurus_ on their way to the lake for a drink. The surprised ceratopsians yelped and moved out of the way of the female alpha before returning to their business.

"Maya? Alden!? Where are you!?"

The alpha searched around the lake shore for any sign of her children. The last she saw of them, they were with Martha the mammoth. And that was before all hell broke loose in the form of a stampede from within the park. On and on, she looked for her loved ones, even any sign of her mate. His condition may have been improving from his last bouts, but that did not excuse her from worrying for her love.

Her search came up fruitless. Her children and her mate could not be found anywhere. She did note that the herd was being taken cared of courtesy of the human healers. Scratches and wounds were being wrapped in those strange white thin leaves they called bandages. She even noticed the human known as Marcus having a casual conversation with one of her own kind. No doubt he had developed some way to speak to them without the use of that odd speaker contraption from earlier. While Neera was pleased to see her herd interacting with the humans, whether it be with or without proper communication, she was mostly concerned on her goal of finding her family.

"Aladar!?" the alpha cried out for her mate to make himself known.

Her answer was not what she was looking for, but rather it was something that was helpful nonetheless.

"Neera!" an elderly voice called to her from behind.

She quickly turned and let out a relieved sigh. While it was not her mate, the large megafauna, or her children, the ones approaching her eased one worry off of her list. The figures approaching consisted of an elderly _Styracosaurus_ with worn down horns and a slightly larger female _Triceratops_. Walking behind them was Url, who hurriedly tried to keep up with his master with his weight and legs dragging him.

"Eema! Ellie! I'm glad to see you're okay."

"I'm fine Hun," Eema told her and both stopped before the female ornithopod with a sassy shake of her frill. "It's thanks to this young lady here that I was able to get out safely. If it weren't for her, I would have been squashed, trampled, or skewered to death!"

Ellie shuddered and smiled sheepishly. If it weren't for her darkened gray hide, they would have noticed her face taking on a tint of red. "Oh it was nothing…I couldn't leave you there."

Url got up to Neera, clearly happy to see her. She watched in mild amusement as the little Ankylosaur twirled about in circles happily before setting his rear onto the grass. His tongue rolled out and released tired pants like a modern day dog.

"Have any of you seen my kids and Aladar?" Neera worriedly inquired.

Eema was about to respond when the younger ceratopsian next to her beat her to it. Ellie looked up in wonder, trying to recall the last time she had seen them. It only took her a moment to think about it before returning her gaze to the anxious mother.

"Well before that stampede hit us, I did see those kids run off with Martha. And while we were being chased around like Espantos playing tag, I did see them make a beeline for a nearby forest edge with Aladar," the Late Cretaceous herbivore recalled.

The slender female's mouth creased into a small smile. Her family was safe. She made a mental note to herself to thank Martha for watching out for them. This time did bring about new surprises, and new friends.

"And if I can remember correctly, your flyer friend was unconscious on your mate's back. That giant red-horned freak was about to give chase when something stopped him…whatever it was," her voice trailed off with a bit of concern.

"I don't know either," the elder said in a near grumble. She then looked over at the other shore, specifically in the direction of where Diablo's sleeping form lay. The other two women looked in that area and noticed a gathering crowd of keepers around the defeated giant. A logical guess brought them to the conclusion that they were preparing to take the carnivore someplace isolated, away from this place. Off to the right of the monstrous titan was a 40-foot long _Deinosuchus_ , who was also being tended to by some keepers. His body half-exposed from the water on the shore along with the new ripples around him meant he had just crawled out of the watery domain. Irwin did not suffer any serious injuries, but it looked like he was content with the amount of attention he was getting. However, those gatherings were not the only things they noted from that sight.

Eema chuckled when she saw a certain young human speaking with two teenaged tyrannosaurs near the fallen enemy. "But I think it has something to do with a certain human that would do the craziest things, just to get things done."

They watched the human from afar. Cool and collected Hazel, interacting with a couple of super predators, was something that seemed incredible to them. For a long time, they viewed carnivores as terrifying monsters that would kill all in their way, much like Diablo. But today proved otherwise; they were saved by the very beasts they learned to fear. For the first time, they saw the carnivores as sentient creatures made through Nature's eyes, not mindless beasts that only cared about ripping their prey to shreds.

It was because of this very human that their natural fear had been leveled. Though the fear of being eaten was instilled in their hearts like an immovable stone, the short amount of time since arriving in this era proved that everything should be given a chance.

Their peaceful ruminations were interrupted by a deep bellow from behind them. The women turned to see some of the herd members scattering from something charging at them. _Struthiomimus_ and _Ornithomimus_ made use of their gift of speed and ran from the area. _Styracosaurus_ and _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , though durable enough to stand down a fight, had to back away from the intruder. They shook and lowered their heads, ready to charge at the attacker should they be picked as the next target. Iguanodons and _Parasaurolophus_ either scurried out of the way or backed off from the area. Younglings of various species screamed as they escaped from whatever was coming at them. Even the humans sprinted away from whatever was coming. Men and women told their comrades to alert their superiors for the problem that was coming.

"MOVE IT BEFORE I TURN YOU INTO A SHISH-KABOB!" yelled the incoming intruder with a voice so frightening, anyone could equate it to a carnivore.

When Neera was about to ask what was going on, her answer came in the form of a _Stygimoloch_ getting batted away by some giant horn. A large mass of fur with the weight equivalent to that of a full grown elephant were the dead giveaways of an irate _Elasmotherium_. While not a predator, this creature was something everyone learned could be just as dangerous as the beasts they faced in the past.

They were about to scatter themselves when something blurred passed them. Whatever it was broadsided the incoming horned megafauna away from them. The wooly rhino collapsed on the ground, legs sprawled and kicking as he tried to get up. He slammed his head against the dirt, allowing his horn to scrape against the terrain. Lines formed along the paths the horn hit.

When Neera, Eema, and Ellie got a good look at their savior, they were shocked to see a certain green _Iguanodon_ stand his ground. Panting heavily and bloodied all over his body, Nero stared down his opponent, ready for another hit. Although most of his body was coated in the thick, crimson, substance and his stance had a limp to it, the warrior was prepared to fight. Where he was during the whole stampede fiasco was beyond them.

"Oh I know you did NOT just send me sprawling on the ground!" the _Elasmotherium_ snorted. He stubbornly picked himself up until he was back on his stubby legs. The male shook his large horn and lowered it, ready to impale anyone that got in his way.

Except for the keepers, none of them knew about the drawbacks of being a wooly rhino. Like his modern day relatives, he had bad eyesight. All he could make out were blurry shapes and colors. _Triceratops_ had the same problem, but they were not as bad as an _Elasmotherium's_. This was a problem because he had no way to determine what was friend and what was foe. In his mind, the green dinosaur before him was his current opponent, mostly because he was the one that attacked first.

"Listen mammal, there has been enough violence today. How about-," Nero tried to reason but was interrupted by the irate megafauna.

"How about you stand there, while I run you through!" he snarled. The bull rhino padded the ground with one hoof for two counts before charging at his foe. Normally, a rhino would run at 35 miles per hour. In this guy's case, he was running at least 40 due to his larger size. All of that hair did not seem to slow him down, nor did the weight of his oversized horn.

Most creatures this mammal came across with would turn and run when he charged. Fear of being impaled by that horn was enough incentive for an escape. In Nero's case, that was not an option. He knew that by dodging, he would be endangering Neera, Ellie, and Eema. He did not like any of them, but after today's events, he had enough of violence.

The green _Iguanodon_ had no idea why he was protecting them. Perhaps he wanted redemption for his grave mistake of releasing Diablo today? Maybe he wanted to show that he was the most fearsome creature in the park, even more than a carnivore? Whatever the case was, one thing was for certain; allowing this mammal to continue on his rampage any longer would result in serious casualties.

Nero charged at the irate herbivore, ignoring his injuries that were screaming at his body. His whole being stung with each step he took. Drops of blood fell on the ground as he ran. The warrior's condition worsened as he approached his suicidal goal.

A charging mammal with a 7-foot long horn may have posed a threat to Nero. However, it did leave out some weak points. The obvious one being his sides. His quick thinking brought him inside the rhino's guard and under his head. Nero's right shoulder made contact with the Ice Age denizen's body, causing the creature to quickly skid to a stop.

The plan went off perfectly. Yet it came at a price. The brunt force of the attack and the weight of the heavy animal caused Nero's shoulder to dislocate. A cry of agony shot through his maw, echoing in that part of the valley in a gruesome baritone voice.

The wooly rhino did not yield. Undaunted by this new competitor's strength, the Ice Aged denizen snarled and used his own and plowed on through. Dirt streaks were created as a result of the mammal pushing the dinosaur back. Closer and closer they approached the terrified audience behind them. Nero used all the strength he could muster to hold his ground. Letting up would create an opening this rival needed to attack.

As if pushing and shoving was not enough, the rhino started ramming the side of his head against Nero's torso; his vicious head-butts topped with his monolith horn added more injury to the green herbivore. More cries of pain escaped the dinosaur's mouth; his face contorting in anguish. Each hit Nero took created a bone-shattering crack. Everyone around them winced in horror at the ear-splitting sound.

The _Elasmotherium_ may have had terrible eyesight, but he did catch the scent of something familiar. Even before they started fighting, his keen sense of smell picked it up. This new scent smelled metallic. The amount of it was overpowering too. He even noticed that this creature's hide was not as green as he thought. The familiar smell and the color he was seeing hit him like a rock to the face. It was blood.

"Yield Green-Guy! I'm clearly stronger than you. Save me the trouble of having to wipe your blood from my horn!" he threatened. Though he did not want to lose to this rebel, the wooly rhino did not wish to be the cause of this being's death.

"You're not getting past me!" Nero retorted, still shakily holding his ground against the heavy plant-eater. "Not when there are non-combatants in the area!"

"Non-comba-" he stopped in mid-sentence when he got a good look at what he was referring to. For the first time since the fight started, he noticed three by standing creatures behind the determined ornithopod. His eyesight may be blurred, but he could make out their basic forms. Two of them looked similar to each other in appearance due to having horns on their heads. The third was a lavender colored creature that looked similar to his opponent, except with less body mass.

Among his kind, bulls would generalize the elderly and females as innocent. The bulls would do most of the fighting. He then gazed back at the defending animal he was apparently jousting. Looking again at the opponent's body, he could see that he obtained many wounds, many of which were not from this battle.

While having injuries like these was a sign of a disadvantage in a battle, the _Elasmotherium_ could not help but be mildly impressed. Anyone with horrific wounds like these would have avoided a fight like this. But this dinosaur's determination to defend the helpless proved otherwise.

With a huff, the megafauna backed off from his jousting, causing the _Iguanodon_ to stumble forward in surprise. Using his massive horn, he lightly batted the green nuisance away. Nero landed on the ground on his side with a grunt; bits of dirt and grass getting uplifted by the impact. The battle apparently over on his own accord, the rhino snorted and walked away in the direction of his enclosure. Herd members that were in his way parted a path for the mammal in fear of being his next victims.

"I think I've had enough excitement for the day, see you never," he proclaimed as he lumbered off. Nero's head may have been spinning, but he had enough strength to lift his head up to see him go.

"And make sure you get Suzanne to check out your injuries Green-Guy. You look like shit," was the last thing he said before becoming silent.

Nero groaned as he lay on the grass. He was too weak to lift himself up from today's horrific events. Getting mauled by a Carnotaur and beaten by an _Elasmotherium_ was enough punishment for one day. Fatigue set on him like a fast-growing disease. Every muscle in his body was sore.

From his gradually blurring vision, he could see groups of humans that were in the vicinity gather around him. No doubt they were tending to his injuries. Nero had been in this situation before, back when he lost his battle against Aladar for leadership of the herd. The green warrior surrendered to the human's help and closed his eyes.

No one else said anything after the fight was over. Witnessing the newly branded traitor go out of his way to defend the herd was truly something incredible. Even Neera, Eema, and Ellie were speechless at what they had just seen. Though the herd members that witnessed Nero's selfless act still bore apprehension and hatred towards him because of what happened today, they could not help but feel pity for him. When the crowd broke off, everyone mulled on what to think of the green warrior. Nero may have saved their lives just this once, but it would take more than that to change their minds on forgiving him.

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Later that afternoon…

Aladar stood vigil on one of the hills that marked the border between the Valley sector and the elephant grounds. Mostly everyone was gathered at the other side of the lake shore. Humans, dinosaurs, and mammals all gathered together to look after each other after today's events. The various species he had gotten to know were interacting with each other. Everyone was getting along.

The herd leader stood proud on that hill. Hazel had already gone off to escort the twin Rexes back to their enclosure by the time he got there. Though he did not witness the battle that highlighted the day, he knew victory was on their side when he noticed the defeated form of Diablo. The chaos of the stampede subsiding thanks to his companions' and mate's efforts were also a dead giveaway of the return of peace.

Standing alongside was Martha. Both he and the mammoth sustained a number of injuries from the battles today, but they were nothing the humans and time could not fix. His children had already gone off to find their mother; he knew she would be worried about them. Charon and Tirech did the same and left to find their parents. Mikiya followed suit as well, determined to reunite with her herd and mother after catching a glimpse of them walking towards the lakeshore.

"Wow…what a day," he commented offhandedly.

Martha could not help but chuckle. "I never thought this place would see another breakout. The fact that we survived it is truly a miracle. You have quite the warrior's spirit."

"Now I'm willing to bet that you now have a new perspective of Prehistoric Park," she continued with a hint of doubt. A frown creased her face under that trunk. "I won't hold it against you if you deem this place dangerous."

Aladar answered with a shake of his head. "The humans kept their word on preventing such a catastrophe from happening. It was Diablo that tested everyone's view of this place. His hatred for us and his desire for revenge drove him on. And…it was Nero's desire to get what he wanted that clouded his sense of judgement. He was led astray. In a way…I'm the one at fault."

The mammoth turned to look at the ornithopod. A questioning look met his gaze. "How so? You did nothing wrong."

"When my friends and I crossed paths with Diablo the first time last year, back when we were trying to get to the Nesting Grounds, there was another with him," he began to explain the night that caused the carnivore so much pain. "Another that was with us, Bruton, sacrificed his life to ensure our escape from the predators. He caused the cave to collapse on them…and himself. I did not know Diablo at that time, as I only viewed him as a mindless monster that saw us as prey. But after today…I learned that the other that was with him, the one that perished under those rocks…was his mate."

Martha furrowed her eyes at that. Now she understood why Diablo was this way. This was the first time she encountered him, but experience told her that the loss of a loved one would drive anyone into insanity. "I see…"

"Then the herd and I managed to ward him off some time later. We were trapped in a canyon; our only way to salvation was blocked by a wall of rocks that led to a sheer drop. We robbed him of his chance of an easy meal…and from what I learned today, a chance at revenge for the death of his mate."

The blue-green _Iguanodon_ let out a regretful sigh. "We never know what we're truly capable of. Had we switched places, I may have done the same thing if it were Neera under those rocks. I was the one that was always in his way."

"No, none of this is yours or anyone's fault," Martha protested gently. "It was the cruel circumstances that you were in that caused it. The past is the past, Aladar. Diablo was suffering from the loss of his love, and thus he was grasping for something that would still leave him empty. Revenge would satisfy anyone, but in the end, it would only cause them more pain."

She then placed a trunk around his shoulder, gently squeezing it in reassurance. "The same goes for Nero as well. Like you said, he was led astray. It was because of today that his eyes were opened to the truth. Not just of the hidden trouble that brewed within the park, but of what he was becoming."

Aladar shot the mammoth a grateful nod. A small smile indicated a sign of thanks towards the mammoth. Seeing that her efforts to uplift the spirits of the herd leader paid off, she retracted her trunk and returned her attention to the valley before them.

"Thanks Martha," he told her.

"Don't mention it. Actually, there was another good thing that came from today," she mentioned, which confused the _Iguanodon_. He eyed her with slight inquiry.

"And what's that?"

Martha smirked. "Everyone's been brought together, closer than before."

The Late Cretaceous herbivore chuckled. He could not agree with that. "Yeah, I guess there's that too. You know, this place isn't so bad. But after today, I now see that things will never be slow around here."

"I agree, my friend."

Just then, something stirred from Aladar's back. A gasp along with sudden movement alerted the two giants to someone they had forgotten was there. The memory of Flia being unconscious from that last battle escaped their minds. As they watched the _Pteranodon_ , they noticed her frantically look around, having trouble taking in her surroundings.

"Aladar look out!" she warned on an attack that would never come. "That monster's going to…"

Her eyes widened in shock when she found she was lying on her leader's back, not on the ground. She saw both her superior and the mammoth she encountered from before snicker in amusement. Flia peered from around Aladar's head and noticed there were standing on top of one of the hills that bordered the valley from the rest of the park.

Shifting herself up caused her to groan. Her chest was sore from the tail smack she received from Diablo. She shut her eyes in an attempt to block out the soreness. Placing one wing on the stained red posterior of the _Iguanodon_ allowed her to prop herself up. Her free winged hand she used to rub her head from the apparent headache she had.

"Ugh…what did I miss?"

Her answer was met by a burst of laughter from the giant herbivores. This day had certainly seen its fill of excitement.


	26. The Aftermath

_**Soundtrack: Forgiveness by Shane Walsh**_

Hazel hurried through the bridges that led to her mentor's office. The news she was bringing him was dire. Her footsteps echoed through the forest as she traversed the wooden planks. The bridges and intermittent stops in between did provide barriers for anyone crossing from a fifty foot drop, but one misstep may spell a bad day for anyone.

It had been a few days since the second mass breakout in the park. Keepers were busily rebuilding each and every enclosure that Diablo had broken. While they were still unfinished, they managed to put up temporary barriers to prevent them from escaping. Construction went on nonstop since the whole fiasco. Hammers hitting nails into wood, saws cutting away, ropes being lifted, and machines rumbling to life permeated through the park. The animals found that annoying, but they had to be tolerant of them if they wanted their homes rebuilt.

Among all of the buildings in the park, the Bug House received the most attention. Keepers worked to rebuild the giant hole that was created during the stampede and to clean up the ashes of their jungle home. The damaged plants and terrain were replaced with new ones and the keepers that had electrician experience worked with repairing the system that imitated the Carboniferous environment.

The bugs still remained in the tent that Marcus set up while their home was being rebuilt. The only difference was that they were moved to a temporary room within the Bug House. The insects found the temporary living quarters a bit crowded, but like the other Residents that waited for the completion of their homes, they tolerated it.

The Valley sector suffered the least amount of damage in the park, considering that was where the chaos was centered. Unlike the main hub of Prehistoric Park, there was no need for any workmen to go there. Nature was the only thing that could repair the trampled vegetation and wash away the blood spills.

Suzanne and her vets were constantly looking after Residents that received serious injuries from the breakout. The surgery building saw many visitors each day, ranging from small to large. Her team worked to replace bandages, apply antibiotics to their wounds, or even monitor the status of any broken bones. It was a miracle that no one died in the breakout.

Only three enclosures survived the frenzy days ago. The first being Rascal's habitat. His place had no sign of damage nor did the _Troodon_ himself obtain wounds. Everyone found that a relief, but not to the carnivore himself. He had missed out on his chance to roam the park at his own leisure…and to cause trouble himself.

The second enclosure that was left untouched belonged to Espantos. Somehow, the trail left by the stampede that Diablo herded was a considerable distance away from the Terror Bird's home. While the keepers where scratching their heads at some theories as to why it was so, those that knew the Terror Bird at a more intimate level, like Marcus and Hazel, knew that Diablo did not want the simple-minded carnivore to run around like crazy every day, even though he always somehow bypassed the security that was put around his home.

Finally, there was the _Microraptor_ Aviary. The trees that surrounded that enclosure, and by extension Nigel's workplace, were unharmed by the chaos of days ago. The only answer to that being the trail of the breakout never reached the area. One could only guess that destroying the forest home would be too much work for the Carnotaur and there really were no creatures for him that he deemed worth imparting into the rampage. Broken bridges and viewpoints would be troublesome for anyone looking to make meetings with Nigel in his office.

Hazel was stopped in her tracks by a call from behind. She had made it to one of the connecting tower points within the forest. Turning her head, she was not very surprised to see a certain female _Microraptor_ gliding towards her. The little winged dinosaur landed nimbly on one of the many ropes that attached the bridge's walls. Her wings quickly folded against her body once she got her footing.

"Hi Hazel," Breezy greeted.

"Hey Breezy," Hazel returned the welcome. "You're pretty far from your enclosure. Practicing how far you can glide I'm guessing?"

"Well, um, yes," the _Microraptor_ shifted in her position, albeit having an expression that showed slight worry. "I was."

"What's the matter? Wings getting tired?" one of her eyebrows went up after seeing the dinosaur frown.

Breezy shook her head promptly. "No, my wings are fine. It's just…what are you doing heading over to Nigel's place?"

"Oh, um I wanted to talk to Nigel about something. It's concerning one of the Residents. I'm not sure if you know him, but it's Nero," Hazel simply replied, putting her hands on her hips.

"You mean the one that broke your ribs and arm?" she noted. The feathered pseudo-avian glanced at the arm cast Hazel still bore from that argument she heard about a while ago. Being part of the network that spread the news around Prehistoric Park had its perks, like being the first to know about it. She too was concerned for her when that happened, and was happy when she found the human up and walking again. "And the one that caused the breakout?"

Hazel nodded. "Yeah. Most of the herd members in the valley are very unhappy with what he did days ago. He endangered the lives of everyone here. They pretty much want him banished. You're not going to believe the demands I got today from some of them about pushing that guy through time portal, or even feeding him to the monster that tried to kill them all. The herd alphas say otherwise too. I'm here to talk to Nigel about that."

"Oh, now?" Breezy slightly exclaimed. The girl noticed her lower jaw start to quiver. "Um, could you at least come back later? He's a bit busy at the moment."

The girl eyed her with heightened suspicion. Breezy was never the secretive type. She always revealed everything to anyone she encountered. Her hesitance was something that Hazel could not ignore.

"Breezy, what's going on?" Hazel asked her, not buying the excuse she was giving.

"Oh, nothing's wrong Hazel. Nigel's just busy is all. He's working on some huge project and he doesn't wish to be bothered at the moment," the _Microraptor_ told her that alibi.

In truth, Breezy knew what was going on. Being so close to his office meant that she and her guild could get the latest news for Prehistoric Park. When she and her guild overheard the park creator and his head engineer talk about the possibility of the park shutting down, they felt absolutely horrified. None of them understood what finances were, but listening more to their meetings gave them the gist that their home was in danger. And from what she just heard today, resolving the problem was not going well. She just did not want Hazel to be involved in an argument like that. Her home being in danger not once, but twice in one month would be simply too much for her.

"Hmm…really now," Hazel narrowed her eyes. "And what is this 'project' that Nigel's working on that's getting him all worked up? Maybe I can help him on it."

"Oh um, it's a big project. Something you don't need to get yourself involved with," she lied.

"You know, Nigel's been pretty secretive towards me lately. He's hiding something and I want to know what it is," Hazel strictly demanded. "You live so close to his den. You and the rest of your Guild always get the rundown on anything related to Prehistoric Park. So you should know what's going on. So tell me Breezy…"

The human got up close to the dinosaur's face. Making eye contact and schooling her features into slight anger was one thing she hoped that would reveal all the secrets. She could also sense the fear coming from the _Microraptor_. Her trembling and nervous laughter were dead giveaways after all.

"What is Nigel hiding?"

Breezy gulped then let out a regretful sigh. Closing her eyes for a moment, she formed what to tell the girl in her mind. Hazel asked for it, and she was about to reap the consequences. Nigel already said that no one should know about the crisis the park was about to face. But she could not say no to her.

"Oh alright…Marcus and Nigel have been working to resolve some kind of crisis. Something about…oh what was it called…" she rubbed her head as she tried to remember the exact word. She and her guild may have been in the present for years, but the terminology was something neither of them could get ahold of to this day. "Finances I think."

Hazel shook her head in disbelief. Her jaw dropped at the mention of the Park having money problems. It sounded hard to believe too; this place had never had any monetary issues. So why were they having it now? And right after a mass breakout no less?

"A financial crisis!?" she blurted out. Her arms went halfway up in a posture that looked like she was about to grab ahold of the dinosaur bird.

Breezy nervously nodded. "Yes. Marcus kept mentioning that if Nigel did not do anything to resolve it, then the Park would shut down. My Guild and I don't know much about human affairs, but what we did hear from a few days ago is that the park shutting down means no home for us. And neither of us want to think of the consequences of that happening."

The Park having a financial crisis was a complete first. Hazel already knew the park was supported by some secret organization that was in charge of protecting endangered animals. The S.A.G.E.S as she recalled. They were the ones that contributed everything the park needed to operate, money included.

"And he never bothered to tell me this…why?" the human softly spoke while gritting her teeth. She did her best to hold her fury at bay. Nigel withholding that piece of information not only make her concerned for everyone's lives in the park, but it also made her worry about her future. She did have a home with her sister…and her mother, but she did not want to resort to that. Not after the crap she went through after her father died.

Breezy shook her head and halfway outstretched her wings in an "I don't know" gesture. "I think Nigel just didn't want you to worry. I think he was afraid that you would react the way you are right now."

It was at that moment that Breezy found that saying that was a big mistake. Hazel's nerve now popping from her head, metaphorically speaking, she reared her head back and shouted to the heavens in rage.

"NIGEL!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the same time…

Nigel's Den

Nigel immediately perked his head up at the sound of that scream. His office being next to a _Microraptor_ Aviary meant that all sorts of sounds would be around him. He was surrounded by nature after all. Birds, bugs, the dinosaur birds screeching, and the occasional bellows of the other Residents from far away were quite normal in that area. However, that sound did not belong to any prehistoric creature in the park.

"What was that?" he wondered. "That wasn't one of the _Microraptors_ , was it?"

Marcus, who was pacing around his boss' office, could not help but wonder the same thing. "I don't know. Maybe that Terror Bird of ours' broke out again?"

The park creator shook his head and rolled his eyes. "The other keepers can handle him. That bloke breaking out is a normal thing. You should know that."

For the past hour, both zoologist and head engineer had been conversing about the current problem the Park was facing. With the repairs to the enclosures now underway, the finances were taking a heavy toll on the budget. Diablo's rampage had worsened their monetary problems. Marcus and Nigel have worked diligently on finding solutions to resolve the huge drop in the budget. But with each possible option came dead ends.

"My God...we just moved from the boiling pan and into the fire," Nigel groaned as he shifted through the various papers that were on his desk.

The papers were of Marcus' calculations on the damages done from the breakout and of economic trends in the near future. Tables and graphs littered most of the pages on the status of the budget should the park request any more supplies. Any person who could read the trends easily or were trained in a business faction would see the status as something similar to a recession.

This was the worry that Marcus was afraid of. Because of the large amount of Residents that were rescued within a short period of time, the park was eating up its budget faster than expected. It was only a matter of time before everything in their stocks runs out. A portion of their money was in the form of CDs, but even those would do little to save the finances unless something was done.

"Nigel, I hope you've been thinking of a solution to our financial crisis," Marcus questioned his employer. It had been weeks since he last asked that question. Of course, he expected him to not have a solution at all for this problem.

"Of course I have Marcus. I haven't forgotten," Nigel replied without making eye contact.

The engineer turned towards the right side of the office. Over the tops of the trees, he could make out keepers milling about in all directions. Vehicles carrying wooden poles for fences along with needed equipment roved through the landscape. He could even make out one or two herd members veering out of the way of the incoming workmen.

To him, it was a sad situation. Nigel and Hazel had just rescued the large group of animals. Saving them from something major like a meteor strike and then having to send them back was not only a waste, but also heartbreaking. He was starting to get to know them, Hazel's friends especially.

But his heart was also on the park too. Which was why he was willing to do whatever it took to save this place.

"Jesus, look at all this damage. That's thousands of money down the drain thanks to that red dickhead! And don't get me started on the repair expenses..." Marcus groaned, referring to Diablo's desire for revenge leading to this mess.

The time explorer got up from his seat abruptly. Marching towards his employee, he kept his emotions at bay. They made eye contact with each other; Marcus' concerned expression meeting Nigel's equally worried but schooled features.

"I'm sure you know why I'm here. And it's not just to show you the costs the park needs to pay for all this."

"Let me guess, you're here to convince me to release some of our Residents to relieve some of the financial burden," he responded quickly.

The twenty-five year old crossed his arms. He resisted the urge to raise his tone at his boss. Doing so would not only get him in trouble, but most likely fired. "Well do you have a better idea? If so, I'm listening."

"I'm working on it," was the response he got.

Marcus snuffed at him. "You can't keep this "everything's fine and dandy" facade going forever. This thing is already biting us in our asses and everyone's going to find out about it sooner or later."

An eyebrow went up on his employer's appearance. Clearly he was not taking the requests he was being offered. There was no way he would allow any of his Residents, his extended family to be precise, to be sold out to something like this. "Well what's your suggestion?"

"There is another solution," Marcus started. "But you're not going to like it. I'm sure you're familiar with the Jurassic Park series."

Of course Nigel knew about that series. Pretty much everyone in the park had seen those movies. Other than the theme of keeping dinosaurs within enclosures much like Prehistoric Park, and the fact that there were always breakouts, there was one thing they had in common. The creator, or contributors, of those parks were aiming for their creations to become attractions.

Jurassic Park, or the more recent Jurassic World from that one movie, sought to please the public by showing off their products of science. Bringing dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures back from extinction was an impossible feat in itself. Advanced science and cloning basically made that happen. They even altered their genetic structure so that they could control them…and make them in their own images.

Everyone knew that John Hammond in the series wished to make everyone happy. Allowing thousands upon thousands of people to witness creatures brought back from the distant past for their own entertainment more than education. Even organizations that wished to use the animals for their own gain like military purposes was something he frowned upon.

Zoos were allowed to get that type of attention, but not his sanctuary. Those were the reasons why he could not bear to reveal this place to the outside world. The thought of all the Residents having to go through constant attention by the paparazzi was something he could not stand. They have their own lives. Being interrupted by overexcited humans wanting to see them in their natural habitats would interfere with their lives. Then there was the matter of the organization his park coincides with. While they do their part in contributing money to support this place, they were in the dark on his mission to rescue prehistoric creatures. Nigel knew the movies all too well; he did not want those consequences to become his own.

"If you're thinking I'm going to reveal this park to the public and turn this place into the next Jurassic World movie, then you're out of your mind," he huffed at him. "There is no way I am doing that. Just within a short period of time, we have found that our Residents and every single other prehistoric creature in our books, is sentient. We now have a way to talk to them. Do you think they would want to be seen by millions of people every day? Do you think they would appreciate all of that attention? Companies call it business, but I call it overcrowding. It's great for zoos, but this is a sanctuary. And then there is the matter of the government, and maybe the environmentalists. So I am not going through with that."

Marcus took a step back and let out an irritated hiss. He put his right hand on his forehead, slowly sliding it down until he had his first two fingers on his nose ridge. The anger within him was really going off the roof now. Nigel was like a stick in the mud when it came to this sort of situation.

"Come on boss! We're running out of time!" he yelled at him, raising his hands for a moment before pacing around the office. He took care not to trip on any pieces of equipment lying around or any important books the guy liked to stack on the floor. "You should have something by now. As much as I don't want to see our Residents go or reveal this place to everybody, we need something to keep this place going! Otherwise-"

A squishing sound interrupted the man's tirade. Marcus fell silent as he slowly looked down at his feet. His right foot was forward, meaning that was the one that stepped on said object. Marcus wanted to puke on the spot. Sticking right out of the edges was something soft, brown with a little bit of white in the interior edges, and was a little smelly.

Marcus dared not to lift his shoe up. He already knew what it was. Nigel's office was situated in a forest that was primarily ruled by small dinosaurs that could glide from treetop to treetop. They loved to frequent around this place because he always gave them some sort of attention. . Marcus knew Nigel loved to keep his pets close to him, like his favorite parrot, but they were all in his living quarters in the other side of the park. This meant that the _Microraptors_ were the perpetrators for this new mess.

And to make this situation worse for the senior worker, his boss was stifling a laugh with his mouth. He could clearly hear the snickers that Nigel was failing to retain.

"God geez! If nothing is done, then this park is going to become shit, like this piece of shit!" he ranted in disgust. Quickly grabbing one of the spare tissues he always kept in his pocket, he hesitantly lifted his foot up and began to rub the fecal matter off. "Damn it…this is disgusting! I wish you could have asked Hazel to toilet train these folks! Oh man...these are my favorite shoes too."

A minute passed and the waste was finally off of the shoe…for the most part. Throwing the ball of tissue into the nearest garbage can in the leftmost corner of the office signaled the end of the arduous task. It was also at this moment that Marcus wished he brought some hand sanitizer with him. The dark-haired man hastily grabbed for another tissue in his pocket and wrapped it around his dirtied hand.

That plan was interrupted when he spotted Nigel grab something from one of his desk drawers. His eyes lit up in submission when he noted the small bottle of cleansing liquid he apparently kept in his work area. The zoologist rushed over to the ailing employee and handed the little bottle of salvation to him. The tissue that was once wrapped around his hand was promptly thrown in the trash receptacle. Marcus pressed the nozzle five times until his hands were slathered with the alcoholic gel.

"And don't get me started with how much crap is in the valley after that breakout fiasco!" he complained as he wiped the liquid all over his hands. "Ever since you guys rescued that new herd, we've had more shit than we can count! It's basically everywhere! This place has been turned into a-"

He was cut mid-sentence when his mouth was covered by one of Nigel's hands. The curse word he was about to utter became nothing more than a mumble. If it weren't for Nigel restraining his strength, it would have been a slap.

Marcus peered over at his boss and noticed his eyes become steely. They were unmoving and stared at a particular section on the floor; the place where the feces was. Staring at it made it look like he was trying to melt the nasty sight with his own vision.

"Shit…" the park creator muttered.

Releasing the engineer from that restraint led to the man pacing around his own office. He put a hand on his forehead and rubbed his temples. Marcus had seen Nigel do this before, but that was only when he was deep in thought on a big idea. Unfortunately, he had no idea where he was going with this. All he was muttering about was that same curse word over and over again.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..."

"Uh boss? That's more than enough curse words," Marcus tried to make his employer stop his pacing with those incessant curses. "I know this is bad, but I think you're-"

"Quiet! I'm thinking... shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." Once again, he was interrupted. Why does he always keep getting interrupted by this guy?

Nigel kept at this for another minute or so. To Marcus, it felt like longer. His ears felt like they were going to burst after listening to the man mumble that same cuss word. He did not even bother to clean up the small speck of crap that the engineer stepped on. The Filipino was in the dark on what was happening.

That was…until Nigel broke out of this trance. The man stopped just next to his desk and turned abruptly to him. He bore the biggest grin that Marcus had seen before he left with Hazel to rescue the herd weeks ago.

"Marcus you're a genius!" he hollered. He nearly jumped at that surprise revelation. His heart nearly skipped a beat too.

"Wait, what? What did I do?" Marcus asked his boss, straightening himself and fixing a few books that cluttered behind him.

"Don't you see!? The answer to our problem has been staring at us in the face!" he said, gesturing a hand at the confused genius.

Said genius could not help but lift an eyebrow at him. "And that is?"

"Marcus, think about it. What are the primary uses of manure?" Nigel inquired in a tone that was the equivalent of a spokesperson in an episode of Jeopardy.

Marcus just stared at him blankly, but replied nonetheless. Wanting to know what was going through this man's mind, he played along. "Um let's see...fertilizer, great source of fiber for some products, energy..."

The time traveler clapped his hands once, signaling the correct answer. "Good! And what kinds of animals do people get manure from?"

"Herbivorous animals. Mostly cows. Boss, where are you going with this?"

"Right! How many herbivores do we have in the park?" Nigel asked, this time waving his hands to make Marcus continue on with the topic.

"Two-hundred plus," was the reply. Marcus pursed his lips in confusion. Seeing the questioning gaze on the engineer's face made Nigel move forward on his game of 20 questions. However, he did really need to go much further when he noticed that same face light up in realization.

"Those guys make a LOT of that because they only eat plants."

The vested man nodded. He took a few steps closer until he was up to the guy's face again. The engineer was getting a little bit unnerved by his employer's odd behavior. But if Nigel had a way to solve this financial crisis, then he was willing to sacrifice his tendency to run from his insane boss and listen. "Farmers can get the money they need by selling crops and managing livestock. But they also sell manure. They can make up to $40,000 per year off of that single business. That's on only one type of animal, but on various species..."

The engineer knew what he was going at. There were various businesses around the world that supported agriculture and farming. Manure was one of the things they sold. And because the world was at the cusp of using more renewable resources than nonrenewable, those businesses would surely be growing.

"That's more than enough money to support the park..." Marcus concluded. It did not really take much for him to do the math in his head, being a prodigy from a well-known business school and all. The park would not only have enough money to last them for years to come, but also more than enough supplements for more rescues. The valley could support multiple herds! "Our problems are solved!"

Nigel placed a hand on the man's shoulder. His grip tightened a little as he congratulated him with a gentle squeeze. "I'm so glad I hired you."

"But boss," he frowned a little. "What about this place being a secret? What if they start asking questions?"

His answer came in the form of a headshake. "No, they would not know at all. They'll just think we're some conservation organization that's contributing to the Green Earth cause. Besides, the crap our large vegetarian Residents make are so similar to cows. We're safe."

Marcus sighed in relief. He was right; it would be nearly impossible to determine what animal the scat came from. They'd have to do all sorts of DNA testing. For all they would know, the crap would come from the elephants. If Nigel said not to worry, then he should not at all.

"Now I want you to come up with a list of every single prospective company that is willing to work with us. Get their numbers and names," the leader of Prehistoric Park commanded.

"On it boss!" he replied with a salute. Turning around, he sprinted down the bridge that led away from the tree-house office. Finally, after many weeks of thinking the end of the Park was coming, a solution was now within their reach. Marcus could finally breathe again.

As he ran down the bridge in his ecstatic state of mind, he bypassed yet another well-known employee of the Park. The familiar grey hoodie and short black hair were clear indications that it was Hazel.

The girl looked like she wanted to stop him. Her mouth even opened at the ready to let a word out. However, he had no time to talk to her at the moment. He had an assignment to do. "Sorry Hazel! Can't talk! Got some work to do!"

Hazel watched as the man left her behind. Questions ran through her head as to what sort of assignment he was referring to. Her curiosity only lasted a second when she decided to brush it off. Marching straight towards her mentor's office, she schooled her features so as to not appear overly pissed off.

"Nigel!" she hollered out to him, making him jump from his desk.

"Oh hello Hazel!" he greeted after scattering the papers away from his desk space. "What can I do for you?"

"I just heard something really interesting from Breezy a while ago," she told him, slamming her hands on his desk. "She told me that you and Marcus were working on something. Something related to a financial crisis!"

Hazel's rise in her voice prompted the park keeper to stand up to face her. He had already dealt with an overly worried Marcus. He could not believe he was now dealing with a furious Hazel…for the second time this month. His happy mood slipping away, he thought of every response he could to ease her growing fury.

"Oh…so you heard about that. Well not to worry Hazel. We've got the problem solved," he told her.

"Solved? How? And why didn't you tell me about this!?" she demanded forcefully.

"Well first off, it's all thanks to our Residents; specifically the herbivorous ones, including your herd. Let's just say…their excrement is vital to the Park," Nigel answered. He then let out a sigh as he moved towards the more concerning portion of his reasoning for keeping it a secret. "As for your second question, I did not want you to know because you already had a lot on your plate; caring for the Residents, recovering from your injuries, and upholding relations. But believe me when I tell you that other than the lives of the Residents along with everyone's jobs here, you were the primary driving force for me. This place is your home, and to lose it would mean breaking your heart. That was something I did not wish to see."

Hazel was stunned. Nigel's explanation was in no doubt similar to her own situation weeks before, when she concealed her knowledge about the Fireball from the herd. She only kept it a secret because she wanted to preserve her relations to the herd. The fact that her mentor was doing the same thing appalled her. The girl was torn from being furious at him for keeping this vital information from her, or grateful that there was someone who was trying to protect her. The more she thought about it, the more confused she got.

After her father died, there were few people she considered her family. Prehistoric Park was all she had left for her. Suzanne, Bob, Marcus, and everyone here filled that empty hole in her heart. Nigel was the only person she considered a father figure. He was close enough to it; always looking out for her.

"Nigel…" she took in a breath and shook her head in amusement. She recalled the words Aladar told her on the day he woke up from his weeks of slumber. "You should really work on rletting others in on your plans. I know it all worked out in the end, but it might have been resolved quicker if we had multiple people working on this. Thanks for caring about my wellbeing, but still. I could have helped."

The man gave her a smirk. "Well enough about that. You wanted to see me about something?"

Hazel's eyes lit up in recognition. She did come here to talk to him about something. This talk about a financial crisis distracted her from her true purpose on coming. "Oh right, I've come to talk to you about Nero."

Nigel clasped his hands behind his back. His eyes furrowed in concern. After the breakout, Suzanne and the vets had been working diligently on tending to the multiple injuries the ornithopod received. Like before, they scheduled him to be sedated for a few days before releasing him back to the Valley. No one wanted to risk their own safety with an irate _Iguanodon_ trying to harm those aiding him. "That bloke? How is he? He's not hurting the vets I hope."

Relief fell over him with his student shaking her head in disagreement. "No no. He's fine. He's sedated for now. Suzanne and the vets are still tending to his injuries. Going to take a while before he's fully recovered. Diablo's done a number on him. And the _Elasmotherium_ dislocating his shoulder is a real nasty piece of work."

He had heard about that incident from some of the other keepers. The _Elasmotherium_ in the park had the mentality equal to modern day rhinos. Why he was attacking the other Residents was beyond anyone. But a most likely guess would be he viewed everyone as a potential foe because of his bad eyesight.

The first to know about the event was Hazel herself. Neera was the one who told her what happened, and thus spread it to Nigel. News of how Nero defended the herd from a rampaging prehistoric rhino quickly spread amongst the staff members. The _Iguanodon's_ change of heart left everyone stunned. No one expected him to stick up for the innocent in something like that.

"Anyway, Aladar and Neera have told me the herd's...not too keen with keeping him around for much longer. After what happened a few days ago, they view the guy as a danger to everybody. Too uncontrollable and untrustworthy they told me. They want him banished, most preferably into another time," Hazel mentioned with a frown. Nigel could sense her insecurity about the herd wanting the green ornithischian sent away. Why she started worrying over the one dinosaur that hurt her weeks ago was confounding. However, sending one of their Residents away was something Nigel himself would not agree with. Nero may be a danger to others, but his selfless act of defending bystanders was something he could not overlook.

"I see...what do the herd alphas say about this?"

"Well, they're thinking otherwise. He did save a small portion of the herd from getting turned into barbecue kabobs by that _Elasmotherium_. He did feel guilty for releasing Diablo too. Those small acts indicate that he wants to make up for his mistakes," Hazel replied. She pursed her lips as she thought more on the subject matter. "He has the capacity to be good, and... I can't believe I'm saying this after what he did to me weeks ago, I agree with them."

"We could place him in a solitary enclosure. He'll be able to live in peace and we won't have to take him to another time period," the head park keeper suggested.

"I was thinking that too, but he's a herd animal," Hazel argued, showing her reluctance on letting Nero go. "He can't survive without being around others. Sure he's the type that doesn't appreciate being around anyone, but he needs company nonetheless. Being an outsider's no fun you know."

Nigel nodded at that. If Nero was placed in a separate enclosure, he would be able to live in peace. However, this would be like Martha all over again. Years ago, when he first rescued Martha from the Ice Age, she was having trouble adjusting to life in the Park. Nigel had to continuously go back to that time period just to get her acclimated. But with every try, she showed no signs of progress.

It was then that after some research, he and his senior colleagues concluded that she was suffering from loneliness. Mammoths were herd animals. They depended on social interactions for survival. Though bulls were adapted to live in small groups or on their own, females and young were much like modern day elephants.

Introducing her to their elephant herd was easy; getting accepted by them was hard. All of the elephants viewed her as an outsider, save for the matriarch's calf. It took a breakout caused by Rascal the _Troodon_ to get Martha to where she was now.

Nero being separated from his herd was not the best idea. He may reject those that are looking out for him, but Hazel was right. He was a herd animal. Herds depend on each other for survival, and for protection. The Park may provide with the necessities to live, but not much of the comfort that a whole herd could offer. In short, Nero would be a prisoner, and that was something neither of them wanted.

"There has to be another way," Nigel spoke softly, pondering on the situation. He stared down at his desk and eyed the papers, zoning out. "Like you said, Nero has the potential to be good. He just needs to learn how. His herd views him as a danger, and it would certainly take more than persuasion from Aladar and Neera to get him accepted again. Judging from what you're saying, he needs to earn everyone's trust. Perhaps if he worked for it…"

It was then that an idea struck him. There was something Nero could do to get everyone in the Park to change their views on him. It would be hard work, but it was a surefire way to get where he needs to be. Getting the herd alphas' approval is easy. The problem is getting Nero to agree with the terms.

"I've got an idea," he eyed Hazel with optimism.

The girl's eyes widened. A smile creased across her face. "Really!? Well what is it!? Anything's better than what I was thinking!"

"Well my idea needs to be discussed with one of the alphas, preferably both of them. Where are Aladar and Neera?" he asked the young woman.

"Neera's tending to the herd at the moment," Hazel immediately answered. "But Aladar is headed to the Titanosaur grounds. He wanted find Baylene and thank Yin for helping to calm the stampede from a few days ago."

"Alright, we'll find Aladar first. Then we can make our way to the Valley sector," Nigel said, walking towards the roofed bridge that led out of his office.

The girl followed suit, but she could not help but wonder what kind of idea her mentor had. But whatever it was, he was sure that it would work in getting Nero to change his ways. Hazel stayed close to the man, intent on helping with her temporary job as a translator and solving Nero's problem.

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The next day…

Vet's Surgery

Today was a much better day than a few days ago. Progress on repairs was coming along smoothly. Keepers worked diligently on getting every single enclosure repaired. Some of them were even headed towards specific areas to feed the Residents. It was high noon, and everyone was hungry.

The park was bustling with activity. Humans going to and fro to reach their destinations. Vehicles drove off carrying loads of equipment, like before. More herd members from before found the courage to return to the main hub of the park after the breakout fiasco, all thanks to some reassurance from their leaders. But they were hesitant in visiting the home of a certain vicious carnivore that bore a grudge to them. As such, they veered away from it.

While everyone was going on with their daily business, two companions were on their way to the Vet's Surgery building with a different agenda in mind. One that involved a recently inducted patient that put everyone on edge.

"Hazel, are you sure this plan is going to work?" a certain blue-green dinosaur asked.

"Positive. It's the best alternative solution. Banishing him is a complete no, like what we discussed yesterday," his companion replied.

The day before, Hazel and Nigel spoke with Aladar, then later on Neera, about their idea on what to do with Nero. While the young keepers fully agreed with what her mentor had planned for the troublemaker, the herd alphas were a bit hesitant. They were not so in tune with how things were done in this time period, all because they had not been here for long. Both of them did not like Nero for selling out everyone's safety during the breakout, but they could not help but feel pity for him when he saved a portion of the herd from the _Elasmotherium_. As such, they were completely hesitant in banishing him due to his selfless act.

Hazel and Nigel had to fully explain their plan to the herd alphas, which took longer than expected. There was much argument on the matter, including the safety of everyone in the park. They reassured them that Nero would be under control and would be under constant supervision. If he decided to lash out, then his punishment would be extended, just like with the Rex twins.

Eventually, Aladar and Neera relented. Once they got the full details on Nero's punishment, they could not help but agree. He had the potential to change; an opportunity is what he needs. And this opportunity, as mentioned by Hazel, was the perfect one. The herd, on the other hand, may not be so agreeable with what they had planned for the branded traitor. Whatever mandate the alphas gave out, the rest of the herd heeded, but this one was something that would result in much reluctance. Aladar and Neera knew that, but it was something they would have to deal with.

"But what if he says no? You and I both know that Nero's a pretty hard case," Aladar questioned next, walking very closely to the determined human.

"Don't worry, he'll agree with us. There's no escape out of this one," was the reply he got.

The _Iguanodon_ let out a sigh and put on an optimistic face. "Alright, I trust you. But if this goes wrong, then you better have a backup plan."

Eventually, they reached their destination. The complex for the larger animals seemed fairly empty. It was around lunchtime after all. Only a few vets remained to work on their duties while their colleagues were out to eat. Other than a few scattered pieces of equipment within the building, it was not messy.

Aladar could not help but feel a sense of nostalgia overcome him. The last time he was here, he had woken up from a deep slumber after receiving intense burns from the second Fireball in his time. The humans did a fantastic job with healing him, though he would have to live with the darkened skin on his back for the rest of his days. It was a good trade off though; if it were not for them, he would have died of those burns.

Like before, he could not help but admire the appearance of the complex. It was unlike any cave he had ever been in. The polished floor, the slabs of shining metal on the roof, the straight, yet ridged, textures on the walls, and the contraptions that were scattered about in the vicinity. There were so many wonders about this time that he vowed to ask Hazel more about it later.

He was pulled away from his trance when he caught sight of a certain green herbivore that lay just before them. Oddly enough, it was the same spot he was in when he first awoke in this world. There were three veterinarians that worked around him at the moment. All of which were moving some medical equipment away in a hurry. All three of them were men and wore those green scrubs outfits that he saw before. One of which had blonde hair while the other two had brown.

They paid no mind to the incoming dinosaur and young keeper. Their stressed out expressions indicated they wanted to leave as soon as possible. And it was not hard to see why. Lying nearby them, inspecting the tightly wrapped bandages on his back, was a fully conscious Nero. His right foreleg was also wrapped in the same white substance, the same area that was affected by the _Elasmotherium_ from before. It lay stretched out before him, making so that he could not bend it.

Once they saw Hazel and heard her telling them to take a break, they promptly followed that suggestion. It was not long before they scurried out of the vicinity once the equipment was out of the way.

"Well, looks like someone's recovering nicely," Hazel remarked, pulling the herbivore's attention away from the humans' handiwork.

Nero glanced over at them and gave them a warning snort. "What do you want?"

"Nothing major Nero. We just want to talk," Aladar said, stopping just next to his human companion. Both of them kept their distance from the wounded warrior. Even in his state, they knew he was still able to cause harm.

The emerald creature gave them a cold gaze before looking away from his two unwelcome visitors. "Well I'm not in the mood for it. If it's about me breaking that Carnotaur out, then I want no part of it."

"Oh I think you do," Hazel coldly remarked. She folded her arms and leaned slightly to one side, but not before flexing her still casted arm to relieve some muscle tension.

"Buzz off!" he threatened, his voice echoing within the building. Neither of them was fazed by the outburst. "I've had enough of accepting deals with anybody! Go back to "looking after the Residents" or "chatting with the neighbors". I've got my own business to attend to..."

"Come on Nero. We don't need to tell you as to why we're here," his superior simply remarked.

Nero let out a condescending chuckle. When he made eye contact, they could see a hint of amusement on the situation. "Oh let me guess…you're going to banish me?"

Aladar and Hazel eyed each other. They were not falling for that snarky remark. Both of them smirked, which unnerved Nero slightly. He had released their enemy upon them. He almost caused the deaths of everyone in the valley. He should be banished for that action. So why were they smiling? When they gazed back at him, he was met with an unexpected phrase.

"No," they said at the same time.

Nero shook his head in disbelief. He was too stunned to speak out his mind. "No?"

"Nope. We don't do that here," the human said quickly.

"Plus, you did help in saving some herd members from that Big Guy. For that, I'm grateful," the male alpha mentioned, nodding at his mention of the gratitude.

"But you did bust Diablo out of his compound and contributed in the near-destruction of Prehistoric Park," Hazel's expression changed into a frown. The same determined look he gave her from their last argument several days ago shown again. "So you're still in trouble. Aladar and I here have come up with the perfect punishment for you."

"Well? Out with it! You're boring me with your speeches," Nero demanded. His tone of voice made it obvious that he did not want them to linger any longer. Their very presence irritated him to no end. He felt like a child being scolded by their parents.

The human blinked and gave him a smug face, one that was unbecoming of a human her age. "Alright…for your previous actions of bullying the herd in the past, endangering the lives of others, and almost causing the destruction of Prehistoric Park, you will be subject to an entire year of community service."

"Community service? What is that? Some kind of food?" He spat out at her but not without emphasizing his confusion.

He had no idea what this community service was. However, he could tell that it was a human custom. From how this girl was putting it, it sounded like a form of punishment that humans would do in this time. What they were supposed to do, he had no idea. But whatever they had in store for him, he did not like at all.

"No. You're going to be helping all of the keepers here with their jobs, where you will be supervised at all times. You'll do this by helping bring in any heavy equipment, bring food to the other residents, help look after them, and maintain the cleanliness of each and every enclosure here," she explained in full detail.

Nero could not believe what he was hearing. He was going to work in this place? And he was going to be watched by the very creatures that he learned to hate? This was beyond being punished; this was an utter humiliation. He felt his soul become utterly disgraced. The green dinosaur thought about how his idol Kron would see him if he were still alive. He may be laughing his hide off if he were here.

" _You both must be enjoying this…"_ he cursed internally.

"You're going to make me be everyone's assistant while your kind babysits me!? You do that, and I will pulverize you!" Nero threatened. His intent to turn the human before him into a bloody stain permeated his mind. He tried to get up, but was met with searing pain on his back. Slowly getting himself back down, he vowed to get back at Hazel and Aladar for the situation he was in.

"I'd watch your words there, Nero. You're kind of in hot water at the moment," Aladar warned. He may have been smiling at him, but he was containing his desire to step in front of his best friend and defend her should this discussion go too far. "Saying all of that will make things worse."

"He's right. But if you don't like the punishment we're giving you, then there is an alternative option," Hazel agreed. Her uplifting tone of voice piqued their accused's curiosity.

"Oh what's that? Starving me to death?" he chuckled evilly. In truth, he wanted to know what other option there was for him. Considering the state he was in, and the circumstances of being out casted from the herd, he was in no condition to argue against his superior's rule. He was already in trouble. Though he did not show it, he felt guilty for what he had done days ago.

"It's community service…or rooming with Espantos for that same time period," the Asian started. She paused to build on the dramatic effect, something that Aladar found a bit amusing. "Espantos is our resident Terror Bird, or to be specific, our _Phorusrhacos_. He's…got quite a unique personality. I'm not sure if you've already met the guy."

The day before, Hazel thought of a way to persuade Nero to agree with their terms. Getting him to live with Espantos was a clever, but devious, incentive to get what they wanted. They had already encountered the zany Terror Bird on a number of occasions. His wild and unpredictable personality would drive anyone insane if they decided to spend a day with him. While they did not wish to put that upon Nero as a punishment, they hoped it would push him in the right direction.

Nero snuffed at them. "What is he? Some little kid I have to babysit?"

His response came from the human shaking her head. "Not quite. Let's just say…he's worse than a pack of _Velociraptors_ nipping at your tail every day. You need to keep him under control, as he tends to break out a lot, clean up after him, and keep him entertained. In short, you'll be his roommate."

"Did somebody say roommate?" a mysterious yet upbeat voice sounded from behind them.

Aladar and Hazel screamed when they noticed the unexpected visitor to be none other than Espantos. The dimwitted bird had been standing behind them for who knows how long. That blank expression and that huge smile creeped them out immensely. Seriously, how was he able to do that? Both dinosaur and human sidestepped away from the crazy carnivore.

If they had noticed Nero when they reacted, they would have seen his face contort in disgust. Neither of them knew it, but he had encountered this simpleton before. It was on the day he helped Diablo escape, when he was unwillingly pulled in to a game of tag. Nero curved his free hoof close to him, ready to stab the bird should he get too close.

"Espantos!" Hazel angrily spat.

"HAZEL-"

"Don't even think about it...," she deadpanned, not wanting to be pulled in that game again.

Nero quietly groaned and rolled his eyes. "Not him again..."

"Hello Espantos," Aladar shot him a polite smile, though he was still recovering from his jump scare. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Didn't expect to see you here. We were just talking about you."

"Oh I heard!" the Miocene predator screamed with delight then looked at the lone human. "So is it true Hazelnut? Am I going to get a roommate?"

It was at that moment that Hazel could not help but smile; deviously in fact. While she did not expect Espantos to appear in the Vet's Surgery, or even be here during lunchtime, it was perfect timing. His appearance made their chances of Nero going with the suggested punishment that much easier. Now he was able to see his alternative form of punishment in person. As such, Hazel could not pass this opportunity up.

"Well, maybe. He was thinking about looking for a new living space," Hazel started, much to Aladar's surprise and Nero's distaste. "The other Residents weren't exactly peachy keen on getting him as one, so we were thinking about asking you."

"Oh sure! I'm more than willing to make a few adjustments to my home! I love having people over!" Espantos squawked happily. "So who's staying with me?"

Looking at the human girl, his answer came in the form of her pointing a free thumb at the incapacitated dinosaur. Once he made eye contact with Nero, the Terror Bird let out the loudest gasp similar to that of a child's. His smile faded in an instant.

"I know you!" he jumped in excitement, happy to see his old playmate again. "You're the Meanie-Greenie from before! Mr. Knee-Rows!"

Nero gritted his teeth. He really hated that nickname. His day just went from bad to worse when this bird decided to pop in at the wrong time. The two creatures he hated were already punishing him. Encountering Espantos again made him want to ram his head against a tree a million times. The forest-green dinosaur would rather knock himself out rather than deal with any shenanigans from this guy.

"It's Nero you idiotic moron!" he corrected with a yell. Nero expected the hyper-carnivore to back away in fear. Instead, he stood there as if that threat went in one ear and out the other.

To those who were witnessing the ear-splitting meet and greet, they were more amused by the sight rather than concerned about any shenanigans that would occur. Seeing Nero get annoyed by Espantos was actually hilarious. Both of them did their best to stifle their giggles, but it was proving to be harder than they thought.

Out of the two, Aladar was the most contained. He had the urge to laugh out loud, but he did not want to give away his mask of leadership by falling for something this funny. Doing so would make him look like a fool. Hazel was not doing so well. Her left hand was over her mouth and looked like her body was jumping. Quiet snickers could be easily heard even if she was covering her mouth.

Eventually, the girl managed to get a hold of herself. "Oh, so you know each other already?"

"Sure do! This is the guy that fought with A-Ladder here some time ago. Then we played tag on the day when everyone in the Park decided to join in. It was scary...but fun! Meanie-Greenie here ditched out on me before the big party started..." Espantos explained in simple-minded terms. He seemed to be fully recovered from the breakout incident, unlike everyone else that was still a bit shaken up by it. Hazel and Aladar were not too surprised, though calling the breakout a "game of tag" and "big party" was so like him.

Nero slammed his free hoof on the pavement. All eyes fell on the furious dinosaur. "Say Meanie-Greenie one more time and I'm going to rearrange that ridiculously long neck of yours!"

"Oh you can fix my neck!?" the ten foot tall bird gasped again. That beak formed into the biggest smile he had made since before the breakout. "Great! I've got a little crick at the back that I've been trying to get! I'd really appreciate it if someone could get that little knob. Oh hey, are you good at massaging?"

He continued to blab away about complete nonsense for the next few minutes. The incapacitated green one turned to his apparent superiors. Both of them had smug faces; no doubt they were enjoying the moment. The look he gave them was a pleading one, and both of them knew he never does that. His gruff exterior may hide every sign of weakness in his form, but his voice would say otherwise.

"You can't make me do this," he begged for them to take him, or the intruder, away. Anywhere was better than being in this temporary prison for him.

"Yes we can," Aladar told him with a nod. He then leaned over to his underling and whispered to him. What he was saying was not for Espantos to hear, as it would be insulting. "Be thankful that the humans aren't subjecting you to something worse. You could have been sent away. But we're showing you mercy."

"So Meanie-Greenie-" Espantos started, apparently oblivious to whatever the two _Iguanodons_ were talking about. He had finished talking about random things when he decided to turn his potential roommate.

"Um, it's Nero," the human corrected offhandedly.

"Oh right. Mr. Knee-Rows, you really want to move in with me?" the Terror Bird asked again.

The sea-green _Iguanodon_ and the human knew that Nero had every mind to tell him no. He did not want to stay with an idiot like him. He may die of annoyance before his punishment's period had ended. In fact, he could just kill Espantos when no one was looking, but judging by how he acted at this moment, killing him would prove to be difficult. He may appear to be an idiot, but he was still a carnivore.

All his life, Aladar learned that carnivores were not to be taken lightly. He may have lived on an island, but the stories Yar and the elder lemurs told about monsters across the sea echoed in his mind. Anything with sharp teeth and claws were considered dangerous.

That was, until he came to this time. Thanks to Hazel, he found that not all carnivores were dangerous. This creature, while he had claws on his feet, lacked the trademark sharp teeth of the carnivores he knew. All this birdbrain had was an oversized beak that could easily break bones with a single swipe. But his terrifying exterior was outclassed by the mind of a child. As a result, Aladar had nothing to fear. Though he was worried about Nero being with this avian for an extended period of time.

"He's thinking about it," Hazel replied, beating Nero to it. "See, he...wants to learn how to be polite. He tends to live on his own so we came up with the idea that he could stay with one of the Residents to get some lessons in. He could stay in the valley...but he wants to be closer to those he wants to get to know more. Should he decide to stay with you, you think you could teach him?"

"Yeah I sure can! This is going to be AWESOME! We're going to play games, roll in the dirt, make sand castles, play tag, make friendship bracelets, read Twilight fanfictions, watch videos on Youtube by Markiplier, or if you prefer Pewdiepie then that's okay too," Espantos cheered. His running around the trio in circles indicated his over-excitement. He was so fast that neither of them could keep track of his movements. Their heads kept turning to the spots where they thought he was, but only found air.

Though neither of the dinosaurs knew what he was speaking of, Hazel could not help but gawk. How could this guy know about half the things he was talking about? Twilight fanfictions? Youtube? Heck, how he even knew about Markiplier or Pewdiepie was confounding. She was a fan of those guys. Maybe Breezy or one of the other _Microraptors_ caught her watching one of their videos on her phone some time ago. Whatever the case, Espantos continued to confound those around him.

"Ooh I know! You could help me with the Gossip Network me and Breezy's friends do every day! Ooh ooh! I know! You could help me with-"

The Terror Bird stopped in his tracks when the male alpha decided to end his overjoyed tirade. He stood in his way and used one of his hooves to hold him in place. Espantos was basically walking in one spot with an oversized foot in his face. Once again, Hazel could not help but giggle.

"Okay Espantos," Aladar started. He then began to nudge the bird towards the exit of the large building with his head. Coming to help him was his human companion. She used both of her hands to aid with the pushing. The Miocene predator could not fight the force at all as he was being led to the door. "I think he gets it. He needs some time to think though. We'll let you know what his final decision is when he gets to it."

"Now don't you have some 'news' to give to the Residents at this time? I'm sure they're dying to hear about the daily report," Hazel supported.

Espantos once again gasped. He was too caught up in the excitement that he got distracted by his real reason on passing by the area. His next stop was Bruno's tribe at this time. "Oh right! I completely forgot about that. Thanks!"

Once they reached the large opening to the outside, the dinosaur and human let go of the Terror Bird. Espantos gave them one last look before running off to the right. He disappeared around the corner of the building before they could even get a good look at him. "Bye Hazelnut! Bye A-Ladder!"

The duo returned to the accused scarred one, who was sighing in relief when the annoying bird left. He looked like he went through enough torture for the day. Because of that, they wanted to get this meeting over with as quickly as possible. But not before they got one answer out of him.

"Now that all of the distractions are out of the way," Hazel said smugly. She put her hands on her hips. "I'm sure you now know Espantos on a more…intimate level. He loves to make friends after all. So…what will it be? Community service…or a year of Goodness 101 with our resident Terror Bird?"

Nero groaned and slammed his head on the floor. He was at a position where he could look up at his judges from where he was. Hitting his chin on the floor was the _Iguanodon_ equivalent of a person burying their face at an object. The answer he gave them was one that they were pleased to hear.

"Ugh, anything's better than being with that nimrod...when do I start?"


	27. End of One Story and a Start of Another

_Darksage: Hey guys, been a while._

 _Marc: Yeah, it's been like a few months. I'm sure you've been wondering what we've been up to._

 _Darksage: Well, to answer your question, we've been pretty busy. School has just started and the workload is starting to pile up._

 _Marc: Not to mention the jobs we work at._

 _Darksage: We apologize for the lack of author's notes, but we are reading your messages. But other than that, we just want to say thank you so much for supporting us in this series._

 _Marc: Your words and feedback are what's keeping Hazel, Aladar, Flia, Marcus, and all of their friends alive. We couldn't have done it without you._

 _Marc: Okay enough with the sappy stuff. Let's get on with the final stretch! **Disclaimer: We don't own Disney's Dinosaur and Prehistoric Park. Just the characters we created.**_

 _ **Soundtrack: Epilogue by James Newton Howard**_

Several weeks later…

The sun beamed down over the South African valley with its welcoming rays. The heat in the air wafted through the area, signaling a beautiful day. The puffy white clouds glided silently through the cerulean sky. It was another perfect day in paradise.

A certain jeep zoomed through the park. The drivers, a man wearing a blue shirt with a beige vest, and a woman wearing her favorite gray short-sleeved T-shirt with a hood, observed the park as they drove by. It had been several weeks since the second breakout incident. All around, workers were diligently repairing the damage done by Diablo the _Carnotaurus_. A number of them did not have any communicators, but those that did were surprised when the animals started speaking to them. They were also happy that they got the privilege to speak with them. Now, they no longer viewed the residents as animals, but as other sentient beings.

The herd was happy that the crisis had been averted. Before, they were fine with going through the park freely, but after that incident, they became insecure about their new home. It took some explanations from Hazel, Aladar, and even Flia to get them to calm down. After telling them that it wasn't the humans' fault for releasing the predator, but rather Nero's, they relented.

Some herd members wanted the attempted usurper to be banished. Others wanted him to be fed to the _Carnotaurus_ for his dark deed. It was Aladar and Neera who told them otherwise; he was going to be punished for endangering everyone in the valley. Hearing their leaders say they would give him mercy was a surprise from the herd, but at the same time, it was justifiable. They hoped that whatever punishment Nero would go through would be appropriate.

The park was starting to look good as new, but the staff only managed to repair the walls of a number of the enclosures. One of them belonged to Espantos the Terror Bird. Because the staff neglected to repair his enclosure first, he was free to run around the park as he wished. Even with the barrier poles still up, no one really knew how he was able to escape in the first place.

Hazel giggled when she saw him pass them by on their right. They were close to the edge of the park where the _Therizinosaurus_ lived. She watched a few of the workers chase after the carnivorous bird with a large net, but his speed outmatched them all. Espantos broke out of his enclosure so many times due to his overexcitement that everyone considered his behavior a normal thing.

A few more minutes passed and they were now driving through the plains north of Prehistoric Park. As they passed by hills, cliffs, plains, and even the manmade bridge over the main river that cut across Prehistoric Park, they managed to make it to a certain point in the valley. Hazel knew this area, as she and Nigel visited it twice on separate occasions and on separate time periods. They arrived before the forest edge where the majestic mountains looked down upon them.

Standing right before them was a certain blue-green _Iguanodon_ , an elderly _Styracosaurus_ , and a purple and brown _Pteranodon_. They stood off to the side, which allowed Nigel to park the jeep in front of the forest edge.

"Sorry we're late," Hazel told them as she closed the door of the vehicle with her newly healed left arm. Because it had been so long since the meteor incident, Suzanne had deemed her limb recovered enough to be released from the cast.

Nigel did the same, but stood off to the side to fix something on him. If any of them were looking, he was getting something from his back pocket.

"What took you so long?" Flia asked with slight mockery.

"Well we were doing a couple rounds through the park," the girl explained as she looked upon the giants. "The damage done by Diablo's slowly getting repaired."

"Plus we were making sure Nero was doing his job," the man with her added.

The woman and the prehistoric creatures observed him take his side next to Hazel. All of them scrutinized him and noticed a certain object he possessed that he did not have on before; a small mechanical earpiece that draped over and into his right ear. Turns out Nigel had put the object on in haste.

"So what are you making him do again?" the leader of the herd questioned the duo.

"Community service," Nigel replied. "That's how Hazel liked to put it. He's helping us repair the damage around the park AND is picking up after you all."

"Picking up?" Flia went next. An eye ridge went up at the sound of that. "What do you mean?"

"You don't want to know," the Asian woman told her.

Nero's punishment was pretty generic, but it was a good way for him to learn to respect others, which was something he neglected. Helping to repair the damage around the park was also a good way for him to atone for his deeds. He was subject to help the humans with their chores in the valley via feeding the residents, hauling heavy equipment for other uses, and other duties while under constant supervision. He was also tasked with helping Bob on collecting the waste the herd and the residents create for shipment to other companies. Hazel and Nigel put Marcus' worry on the financial budget at ease when they showed him their solution. He was somewhat skeptical on the whole subject when they told him, but after seeing the schematics, he relaxed.

"Well either way," Flia broke the silence and looked at the mountain then at the two dinosaurs. "We're here for a reason. What's in this mountain is something you two need to see."

"Sounds like you know what it is," the blue-green _Iguanodon_ mentioned while eyeing the scout. "Come on Flia, spill it."

The _Pteranodon_ shook her head. "I've already seen it, and I don't want to spoil anything."

"Come on you guys," Nigel told them and made his way into the forest. "We're wasting daylight."

The two giants watched him go before following him. Hazel was the last to go but then looked back at her best friend, who was about to take off. Then, the flyer stopped and saw the human staring at her. Both of them knew they were thinking the same thing and shared a giggle.

"You want to go the long way or the short way?" the female pterosaur asked her.

Hazel shrugged her shoulders and walked over to her friend. But instead of climbing on to her back, she went to the vehicle she and Nigel arrived in. Flia watched her proceed to the back of the strange human carrier and open the compartment in the back. It was then that the human took out a familiar leather object. Flia rolled her eyes humorously and turned her back to her, ready to receive the one thing to keep Hazel secure during their flight.

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"We're here," Nigel told the dinosaurs behind him.

The man parted the veil of leaves before him and allowed the sunshine to pass through. At first, the dinosaurs were blinded, but when their vision cleared, they gasped at the sight. It was a hidden grove that was situated in the middle of the mountain. A rock wall formation expanded from the left to the middle position. At the left corner of the turn was a rock indentation, which was once a pond. Tall grass spanned through the floor. The trees that dotted the grove were like the ones in the forest, and were positioned off to the sides of the grove as if they were eternal guards. On the right was the cliff that overlooked the whole valley. Unlike before, there was no human equipment obstructing the area.

Eema was the first to walk into the grove. She knew of this place because she had been there so many times in the past. Her eyes became marbles and watery when she looked upon the bones in the rock before her. It was a full skeleton of an _Iguanodon_ , standing poised and still, like a testament against the ravages of time.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed with her voice cracking. "Either my eyes are lying to me, or that's Old Gotama!"

Right when she said that, Flia landed just a few feet before her. The _Pteranodon_ folded her wings and went on all fours. Her rider dismounted from her saddle and walked up to the elderly _Styracosaurus_ with a smile.

"No lie old girl," Hazel remarked and looked upon the intact fossil. "It's him alright."

Aladar was just as amazed as the ceratopsian. This was indeed Old Gotama, the same one Eema showed him in their time. He slowly walked up to the old remains and gazed upon them in wonder. The founder of the Nesting Grounds had lived and died, protecting this place. The Fireball did not even destroy him. He was here, the entire time, even though the valley changed.

"If this is Old Gotama…" he spoke softly then looked out into the valley. "Then that would mean…"

"This is the Nesting Grounds," Flia finished for him.

Aladar strode to the cliff's edge and observed the whole valley. For an entire year, he knew the Nesting Grounds as the place where the herd would go to have their children. It was a valley that was free of the harshness of the wastelands around it. Eternal greenery and crystal clear waters remained for everyone. And yet, here it was, still providing nourishment to others.

"That's right," Nigel agreed with the _Pteranodon_ and walked up to Aladar. Hazel followed and stood next to him as well. "In the 21st century."

"Old Gotama must have been protecting this valley…" Eema whispered as she gazed upon their home.

"Hazel why didn't you tell us that we were in the Nesting Grounds the whole time?" He asked the young woman with a suspicious look.

"Well, I WAS trying to tell everyone before, but of course, there were roadblocks in the way," she reasoned. "Plus, you were incapacitated."

"When we were at the Nesting Grounds in your time," Nigel picked up on Hazel's explanation. He then pointed to Old Gotama behind them. "We only recently found out that Prehistoric Park was actually in the same valley you were in. All because of that skeleton back there. Then we saw him in your time and that confirmed it."

"In other words," the junior traveler went again. "You never really left the valley."

"Well the valley looks different," Flia mentioned then looked at her leader. "But it's not the place that makes it home."

The _Iguanodon_ looked at his scout then at the friends around him. He heard that phrase before, when he was reunited with the herd and his family. Hazel was right. It wasn't the place that made a home; it was being with those they cared about. In this case, it was the herd and the humans that they lived with.

"You know, now that everyone, or almost everyone, can understand you and you're staying," Hazel remarked and folded her arms over her chest. "Things are going to be pretty different around here."

Aladar chuckled. "New time, new place, new folks, feels like things will never get boring."

"I've been wondering about something," the park creator thought as he gazed out into the valley. "We're so high up and considering the factors around this part of the valley, do you think anyone can hear us from here?"

Flia eyed her leader and then at the elder ceratopsian. "You want to test it out?"

The dinosaurs smirked and let out their roars into the sky. Following them was the scout, who contributed with a loud screech. The humans with them had to cover their ears, but they laughed as their friends proceeded to test out that theory. Their call lasted for a few minutes, with a moment of silence following the attempt.

Their eyes widened when the theory of everyone hearing them at the grove was confirmed by the huge reply they received.

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 _Valley Sector..._

 _Crack._

Suzanne jumped at the sudden jerking movement of the little miracle before her. Small, round, and coated with gentle blue and brown hues, she was witnessing a natural wonder. The object was about the size of a football and just as heavy. The vet peered in closely to observe the once in a lifetime event about to happen.

 _Crack crack._

The egg shook again. Tears began to appear on the surface as the being inside fought its confines. Gurgling sounds erupted from within. The nest she was close to was constructed from dirt and foliage from the forest, which provided the newborn babies the perfect bedding to land upon once they were born. The dead leaves that littered the nest provided footing and warmth to the egg and the surrounding siblings. The other eggs were not moving yet, but she knew that they would soon enough.

Today was a momentous day. The sun was out and the weather was warm. The climate was bearable, not too hot, and not too cool. Many weeks of waiting and constant care from the herd's expecting parents were paying off. Because now the park was about to bear witness to the arrival of more than one hundred baby dinosaurs.

From her peripheral vision, she noticed a very large animal take its place next to her. She did not need to look to see that it was the mother of the nest. Nearly forty feet long, sporting a striking blue hide and a distinct curved crest, it was no doubt a _Parasaurolophus_.

"Thank you so much for allowing us near your nest," Suzanne turned to the female hadrosaur.

Greeted with a smile, she was only slightly taken aback when the creature began to speak to her.

"You humans took us in when we lost our home," she told her. "Though I am a little wary of strangers approaching my future children, I will treat this moment as an exception."

Suzanne took a few moments to adjust from her shocking moment. Though she was aware that the Residents in the park were sentient, the fact that she could not speak to them was something that would take a while to get used to. Marcus' prototype speaker did indeed break the language barrier, but that was no longer needed. Now, like the engineer, she had a communicator for her own use.

The vet along with a fraction of the staff were given their earpieces not too long ago. Much excitement filled the park when they received those vital tools. Marcus was in the process of making more, but that was a job he did not mind at all. But it was something that would take a while to complete, considering the other staff members he had to account for.

Rustling of grass and movement caused the human and ornithopod to investigate. Looking over at their right, they saw Cameron the cameraman squatting near the hatching egg. Since this was a once in a lifetime event, recording every single minute of it was a complete must. It wasn't everyday anyone got to see a live dinosaur hatching.

He was wearing the dark green uniform of the park rather than his normal, casual attire. It was at the behest of Suzanne all because "she wanted him to look proper for today". Cameron was against the idea, saying he looked like a boy scout, but he could not resist the motherly scolding of the head vet.

Using the large camera he brought, he turned the contraption over to the vet when she whistled for him. He had already made some rounds near the nest, taking in their surroundings. In fact, earlier that day, he went around the valley to record the other animals keeping watch over their future children...all the while keeping his distance from the overprotective parents. He recorded them shifting in their positions and bellowing as they sat around their birthing children. Some even moved about getting to whichever location they needed to get to.

Whatever the case, he felt like he had traveled back in time, to the age of the dinosaurs.

But nothing surprised him more than the talking. Like Suzanne and some members of the park, he too received his first communicator. He nearly fell over when he heard a _Pachyrhinosaurus_ speak to him just days ago. The man still was not very familiar with the names, but after some questioning, the general-like tone the dinosaur emitted along with his "dim-wit" attitude was none other than Sarge. His short time with the ceratopsian was a bit nerve-wracking, but it was one he enjoyed. He may have worked in the park for a while, but now there were a few more things he needed to adjust to.

"This is such a beautiful moment, " Suzanne spoke to the camera. The image of her in the device became larger as Cameron zoomed in on her. "The park has seen a number of hatch-days in the past, courtesy of the _Ornithomimus_ , but this is something completely new altogether. Currently, a number of our vets and keepers are making their rounds through the valley. We've even been keeping an eye on the nests over at the _Ornithomimus_ enclosure. Weeks of monitoring and we've discovered no health complications at all. We've done the counting and are expecting at least a hundred new additions."

A squeak from the egg drew her attention away from the camera. The mother _Parasaurolophus_ had been too focused on her firstborn to take notice of the human device. Cameron pointed the camera at the egg and watched the magic happen.

One portion of the egg popped open. The fragment dangled off to the side by some free-hanging membrane. The once pristine egg was now riddled with cracks and tears around the gaping hole. The figure of a horse-like head with a small, curved crest peeked from the opening.

The baby looked much like the mother, except for the large eyes. Baby dinosaurs, as the researchers in the park found, had enlarged eyes compared to the adults. Their appearance ratio was pretty much similar to most other animals today; small, having larger features, and quite adorable. This one was no different.

The infant let out a squeaky honk. Brown eyes gazed at the large creature before it with intense curiosity. Its muzzle was met by the larger adult's and was rubbed gently. The mother purred softly, making the baby relax its noisy tirade that was much like a lamb's bleating.

"The mother is establishing maternal recognition," the vet explained offhandedly after the camera focused on the little miracle. "It's so that the baby would recognize its parent."

Just then, the mother and child fell silent. The hadrosaur gazed up at the mountains in the distance, passed the hills. The mountains were higher, just peeking over the hills that marked the borders between their part of the valley and the elephant grounds. Suzanne never really visited that section of the park, but according to her colleague Nigel, there was a hidden trail there. And he along with hazel were there with some of their new friends.

The sounds they heard echoed from the mountain. They only lasted for a few moments before fading away into nothingness. The nasal bellows and squawks no doubt belonged to two large animals and a pterosaur. Suzanne did not need to think any further on who they belonged to.

She along with Cameron were stunned when the hadrosaur replied to the call. She was then joined by other members of the herd, letting out noisy honks and trumpeting sounds of their own. And it was not just the herd making all the noise either. Off in the other parts of the park, they could hear the other Residents bellowing as well. Elephants, titanosaurs, even a lone rattling screech from a certain wandering Terror Bird were just a few that they could make out. The valley sung with a symphony of creatures of the past.

All around them, dinosaurs roared at their loudest. The sounds were deafening, like bombs going off. The humans in the area could only gape and cover their ears at the sight they were witnessing.

"What's going on?" Cameron looked at the human vet for an answer.

The vey shook her head and smirked. "I don't know, but it looks like everyone here is having fun. You'd better keep recording this. It's not everyday our new friends put on a show for us."

True to her word, the staff member kept the camera rolling.

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 _Saber-tooth Cat Climb..._

Marcus exhaled sharply as he set his toolbox down. For the past few hours, he had been working diligently at the new Sabertooh compound. Logs, planks, and numerous toys made for large cats littered the place. Only a few structures were left standing from the recent breakout, including a lone climbing structure that was now taller than before, complete with more perches for the felines to rest at the top. Though it was messy, the place would get cleaned up once the necessary renovations were made.

Marcus and the other keepers did not know why, but the adult _Smilodons_ requested the cubs to stay with them. At least, those with the new communicators understood them perfectly. The engineer knew the story of Sabrina from Nigel. Losing a cub like that did a number of her. And Hazel adding her theory on the predator distancing herself from her cubs out of fear was saddening.

But ever since the breakout, something within her had changed. Now the adults wanted to be with the cubs. Marcus prayed the new combined enclosure would bring the family closer together. Even if it took weeks, months, or years, he hoped things between them would get better.

His ruminations were interrupted when the saber-kittens weaved passed his legs, nearly tripping him. Regaining his footing, he turned and mildly scolded the cubs, who were making their way to a pile of logs meant for their new playground.

"Kids! Easy on the lone human here! I almost tripped!"

"Sorry Mr. Marcus!" the twins apologized at the same time before disappearing behind the light-colored wood.

A soft chuckle from behind him caused the man to turn around hastily. His eyes widened when he spotted the adult _Smilodons_ approach him. He barely visited this enclosure in the past, so he was a bit jittery when he first came close to the prehistoric cats. "Tick them off and he could be mauled and impaled by those large fangs" was his personal warning.

"What's so funny?" Marcus schooled himself to look tougher.

"Nothing," Sabrina smirked, showing off her large incisors. "I was just imagining you caring for those cubs. You' be running around the place trying to get them under control."

"Yeah keep dreaming…" he waved his hand dismissively. "Not sure if you can tell, but I'm not much of a babysitter."

César rumbled with laughter. "Just you wait until they get older. They might view you as a chew toy."

That response was met by a hard kick to the back leg by Sabrina. The male predator winced in pain and glared at his mate. His attempt to scold her was met by a fury held at bay by the female, one that he had no chance of contending with.

"Dear! Do not scare the Marcus human!"

The South American feline nervously chuckled. "What? I was only kidding!"

"Regardless of whether that was a joke or not, the children look up to us. We will teach them to control their hunter instincts," she turned to the engineer and reassured him.

The young man sighed in relief. "Oh good! I was getting a bit nervous there."

"By the way," he continued. "I'm planning on putting in a huge scratching post for you guys. Cats are known to love them."

César scoffed at the man, throwing him off guard. "Scratching post? You mean those things that you humans put up to trim our claws!? If you think I will stand losing the sharpness of my weapons to become a pampered kitty, then think again cub! I'll make you into my own scr-OW!"

The male predator's rant was cut short by another kick from his beloved mate. César toppled over and fell on the ground, groaning in pain. His teeth were set in a strained grin as he tried to appear positive to Sabrina.

"César! Marcus is doing us a service by repairing our living space! Giving us that gift if a kind thing to do!" she scolded him. The power of her voice seemed strong enough to topple the logs that were piled around their enclosure.

Though Marcus was only there as a witness, this was the first time he caught a hint of the ferocity of a _Smilodon_. Nigel and Hazel had apparently left out the detail about Sabrina being in charge of César. She seemed like his boss than a mate. Which left the man wondering how else she would punish him if he were to go out of hand. In any case, he noted to not get on either of these Residents' bad sides.

He witnessed the female cat lean down to the subdued male. His eyes widened as he listened to the threatening, near whispered warning of Sabrina. It was something that made the twenty-five year old snicker. In fact, he compared it to something he once saw in a move concerning two other _Smilodons_ , where the girl was telling the guy not to call her by a certain name.

"Now don't tell me this is a joke _dear_ ," she hissed, making that last word sound like an insult once more. "You will apologize to the human."

"Right, right…" César strained then eyed the human. "Sorry kid...We appreciate the gift."

"Apology accepted," he said, shaking off that amusing encounter. He watched as Sabrina backed away to allow her mate to stand.

Just then, distant roars sounded off from west of where they were. The sounds seemed a bit faint, but they could hear them clearly. Even the cubs stopped playing when they heard the roars. All of the cats' ears twitched as they listened in. Whatever they were hearing, they were coming from a large animal and a creature that could squawk like the Espantos bird.

The bellows they were hearing disappeared moments later. But the silence did not last long. Bellows and roars coming from all parts of the valley erupted in a frenzy. The cats were immediately put on edge, crouching down in case they needed to bolt. Fortunately, with their highly trained ears, they did not hear any screams or roars of vengeance coming in their direction, causing them to relax a little.

"Now what the heck is that?" Marcus wondered as he looked around the enclosure from where he was.

"Sounds like our friends are having a bit of fun," Sabrina purred with interest.

"Miss Sabrina!" A child's voice sounded.

The adults followed that voice only to see the two young cubs approach them. Fear was apparent on their faces, apprehensive on another breakout. Like the children they were, they went to the nearest source of safety, that being the adult cats. They skidded to a stop, gasping for breath.

"What's going on?" Tai started, looking up to the elders for an answer.

"Is...is it another stampede?" Sable added.

The female shook her head, relieving the twins. "No, far from that. Just our new friends enjoying themselves."

"Well...they're being really loud. Could you please do that thing you did when you saved Miss Naomi, Mr. Embo, and their kids?" the female kitten implored. Her ears folded close to her head, trying to block out the loud frequencies.

Sabrina shot them a smile. This sort of situation had given her an idea. These two had not really practiced on their roars. And the rescue she and César performed had apparently inspired these two. If she and her mate played along and roared for them, they would no doubt receive a good demonstration.

Among her kind, parents taught their children how to roar. Lessons began at a young age, and the twins were within that range. Roaring was a complex process for cubs, as their voices were not very developed. But it was something that came with time and practice.

"Alright, we'll do it."

César huffed and spread his legs apart, assuming a predatory stance. Sabrina rolled her eyes and did the same.

"These loudmouths think they're all that! I can be louder than them! Watch closely kids, this is how it's done!"

The female predator glanced over at the lone human. She knew full well that human ears were sensitive to loud sounds at a close range. After the work Marcus had done to their new combined enclosure, she did not want to repay him by making him deaf.

"Marcus, you may want to cover your ears."

The man hastily complied and put his hands on his ears. He was thankful of his new Communicator; otherwise he would have gone deaf. His ears now covered, he nodded to signal Sabrina to perform their action.

The adult feline shot a smile at him and raised her head to the sky. Her jaw opened to reveal those lethal teeth that could crush bone in a single bite. Sabrina's roar was so loud that Marcus could feel his ears pop for a moment as their calls reverberated through the air; shaking the engineer's to the bone.

César followed with a roar of his own. His was of a deeper and louder tone compared to his mate's. True to his word, he put all of his power in that roar in an attempt to quiet the friendly riot. The cubs stood below him and listened in as the elders taught them that old tradition.

Little did they know that they were lending their voices to the symphony of the valley.

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 _Elasmotherium_ _paddock_...

Bob almost dropped his shovel when he heard the bellows. Worse yet, he almost slipped on something wet from behind him. When he looked back after regaining his footing, he was grateful to see that he did not fall back first on a large brown, lumpy, and stinky mound of waste.

For the past few hours, the head keeper along with ten or so other staff members had been working diligently at the _Elasmotherium_ paddock. Every now and then, they would spend hours at the shrub-land compound depositing his meals, trimming his grass so they would not impede his walking, and most of all, keeping his living space clean. This was something they had to do once a week.

Normally, the enclosure would be void of any discrepancies. But now, it was absolutely filthy. Mounds of feces lined parts of the enclosure like enlarged dirt piles. It looked as if some gigantic ants made their homes out of large rocks. The area was smelly too with all of that gathered waste.

The task was simple. The keepers would bring in some garbage cans, shovel the piles into them, and then load them onto a cart to be transported out of the enclosure. They would then be taken to a separate area of the park where they would be shipped by truck to the outside world for proper disposal. Now, because of the recent events that occurred, the waste would instead be taken to a number of the businesses that specialize in selling manure for agricultural and energy use. Some were in parts of Africa. Others were overseas, so they had to be taken to the nearest port for shipping. It was a tedious job, but it was one that helped keep the park going.

Of the years Bob had spent helping to look after the Elasmotherium, he never thought he would understand him in perfect English. Today was the day he finally got his own communicator. The bald man got quite the surprise of his life when he first spoke to the wooly rhino. Well, only because he greeted him first. He only said a few words before walking off to eat some leaves from a nearby bush.

The man figured the Ice Age denizen was not much of a talker. In fact, the animal was staying well away from them as they worked on shoveling his waste into various garbage cans. He could only guess as to why he would not want to interact with them. The most logical answer may be because of their housekeeping duties. If a butler or a maid was fixing up around the place, people would veer away so they would not bother them at their work. Perhaps that was why he was like this?

Bob shrugged his shoulders and returned to the more curious question at hand. Thinking more upon the _Elasmotherium's_ behavior may give him a headache.

"What the bloody hell is that?" he questioned, looking over at a distant mountain range at a particular section of the park. The bellows from the mountain may have ceased, but the uproar was far from over as he soon found out.

The valley erupted in a huge cacophony of prehistoric noise. The roars were coming from different directions in the park. From what he could discern, the bellows were made by different animals in the park, most of which he could not determine their identity immediately. Even the other keepers stopped what they were doing and gazed questioningly around them.

Wanting to find an answer to this predicament, Bob turned to the only being that was closest to him. Pulling an oversized wagon via a giant yoke collar that was fashioned to fit large animals was Nero. Nigel and Hazel informed him of the burly _Iguanodon's_ "punishment" some time ago. Making him do community service rather than sending him away for almost destroying the park seemed like a crazy way to deal with the troublemaker. But he was told that he wanted to make up for his mistakes, and that was something the keeper could not argue with.

Hoisting the now somewhat clean shovel over his shoulder, Bob made his way to Nero while making sure he did not step on anything...odious.

"Oi! Nero!" he called, stopping mere feet from the ornithopod.

The 33-foot long dinosaur stopped moving and shot a glare at the hairless ape. His irritation was clear on his face, making the human go on edge a little. "What? You want me to go to a different area?"

"Nope, just got a question," Bob said with a shake of his head.

"Well hurry up! Standing in these nasty piles is making me want to lose my lunch!" the forest warrior spat. "Of all the jobs you humans are subjecting me to, does it have to be this one?"

"I'd watch your words there if I were you," the man warned. "Remember, one slip of that attitude and your time gets extended. And you wouldn't want that now, would you?"

Nero looked away from him and snorted. The grumpy dinosaur said nothing from that, as Bob expected. In his mind, he wanted to smile. This guy may be ten times larger than him, but now he was treated like a little kid on timeout, something that he found quite amusing.

"Anyway, you know what's going on? Seems like the whole park has gone into a frenzy. It better not be a breakout…"

The ornithischian looked at him for a split second before he turned away. Now gazing at the now quiet mountains in the distance, he listened to his surroundings carefully before giving an answer.

"It's a call to unite everyone. Something our herd did before around this time when the new generation came in. Aladar's doing no doubt. I don't know why he's doing it now, we're in no danger. And it would seem everyone is in on it."

He rolled his eyes in annoyance before shutting them tight. "If you have any mercy on me, then please tell them to shut up!"

Bob turned to walk away, but no before saying on last thing to Nero. "Nah, you say we're in no danger, then I'm okay with that. By the way, you missed a spot."

The herbivore watched questioningly when he walked away. He looked around for the meaning of his order. Once he looked behind him, he saw three keepers wheeling a can full of poop towards him; their faces contorted in disgust as they helplessly breathed in the fumes.

The _Iguanodon_ shook his head in despair. He had to face a year of this crap, and cleaning enclosures was the worst. But it was better than living with that carnivorous simpleton known as Espantos. Nero braced himself and prepared to back the cart to allow the humans to dump the waste. But not before getting interrupted by yet another creature he did not want to talk to.

Heavy footfalls and breathing made Nero stare at the incoming form of the Elasmotherium from his right. He shivered at the sight of him, and he was not easily scared. The humans may have done well in healing him from his injuries, but he did not want to get any more punishment from this animal.

Fortunately, the rhino was not looking for a fight. The mammal stopped just a few feet from him; the horn just several inches from the _Iguanodon's_ face. He let out a gruff snort before saying something unexpected.

"I'm not sure if anyone has told you this, but what you're doing is really disgusting. However, I appreciate you cleaning my lawn Green-Guy."

When the wooly rhino turned his back to walk away, Nero took this chance to do something he had wanted to do for hours. He collapsed on his stomach and allowed his chin to impact the ground with a thud. The sharp pain left within a few seconds. His head may be in close proximity to some crap piles, but he was in no mood to shout his complaints.

"This year had better be over soon…"

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 _Near the_ _Therizinosaurus_ _enclosure..._

It was a relaxing day for a certain fuchsia _Iguanodon_. No fear, no anticipation for disasters coming, and no worries. She had been through a lot recently; escaping the destruction of her home and braving trials in a new world. But now, for the first time in a while, she was at peace.

Neera had decided to bring her sons and their friends through a stroll in the park while her daughters were spending time with Martha and the titanosaurs. Charon and Tirech's parents were off elsewhere in the park, so she opted to look after them while they were away. Her children wanted to do some more exploring, and with the tension that occurred weeks ago, it was a good idea to take them out.

They had passed by a few of the enclosures to greet some of the Residents, such as Theo and Ellie, the _Ornithomimus_ , and even the _Microraptors_ that were gliding by. Neera also made sure to steer clear of Rascal's enclosure, as that memory of her first encounter with the small carnivore burned fiercely in her mind. She did not want to receive any deranged insults or lecherous comments from that miniscule freak.

In addition to avoiding that particular predator, the alpha female strongly emphasized to her children and their friends to stay away from the area she found out to be called _Carnotaurus Quarry_. Their responses came in an agreeable tone. Neither of them wanted to upset him again by appearing close to him.

It was only recently that the female found out about Diablo's cause of his desire to kill the herd. It was her mate and Hazel that told her the whole story. Before, she felt fear whenever she was near carnivores. Now she felt pity and understanding. Losing someone close would drive anyone insane. If she had the ability to reason with the Carnotaur in the past, things would have been different. But some barriers, such as the fine line between predator and prey, were not so easy to overcome.

Because of this knowledge, Neera was supportive in Diablo's stay in the valley. It took all in her and Aladar's power to calm the outrage in the herd. Even if they did get the whole story, they were still fearful of him. The verbal battle was tough, but they only succeeded when their friend hazel told them the carnivore would be under constant surveillance and increased security.

The sound of laughter pulled the _Iguanodon_ away from her thoughts. After blinking twice, she saw the shapes of her sons, their friends, and four smaller dinosaurs zoom passed her. At first, they ran in a line, but then broke off in different directions. No doubt they were playing tag, with the last baby chasing them away.

Neera had forgotten that they passed by the main hub of the park a while ago. They took care in watching where they stepped due to the bustling keepers and their goals for the day. Even the vehicles she and the kids passed by still confused her to this day.

It was also at that time they had encountered the _Protoceratops_ babies near their nursery. Hazel did mention them before during their first tour, but never got the chance to introduce them because they were asleep. Some of the vets were babysitting them...and were having a hard time trying to keep them together since they were running around the building. It was through Neera's interference and suggestion to take them along with her for the day that relieved the vets. It was by chance that they were wearing communicators too; otherwise none of them would have understood her. The children were happy that they got more playmates and were not bothered by their group growing.

Neera watched them play and laugh for a few minutes until something caught her attention. A deep, trumpeting bellow followed by a series of squawks rang through her ears. It was faint, yet it sounded familiar. She looked around the grass plain and then found herself gazing at a small, distant mountain.

The landform did not seem too far away, maybe a couple of miles. Trees covered it and the surrounding peaks on all sides. Neera vowed to explore more of the valley, but was too busy lately with looking after her family and the herd.

Then, a thought occurred to her. She did hear that Aladar and Eema were off to that mountain at the invitation of Hazel, Nigel, and Flia. It was about showing them something special was what she heard from the gossip that went around the herd. Whatever it was, it was a surprise meant for them, and the rest of the herd's for later.

When she listened to the bellows again, she recognized who was making them. It was no surprise that her mate, Eema, and Flia were at the head of it. The sounds did not seem distressed, but triumphant for some reason.

The sounds coming from the mountain lasted for only a few moments, which were then followed by seconds of silence. The answer to that call then came in the form of more bellows, this time from the valley and all around them. The entire park was contributing to the symphonious tune. Why everyone was doing this was a conundrum.

Until Neera got her answer. She felt a pull coming from her chest, as if something wanted to come out. Something within her wanted to join the crowd. A feeling was calling to her, almost nagging her to do so. Every time she tried to resist, it only came back stronger. It was a sense of longing of wanting to come together. It was a call of unity.

"Mom, what's going on?' Talin asked.

Neera looked down to her right and saw the children looking up at her. Even the babies were silent, their bleating and quips were gone. They were apparently confused about the whole thing that they stopped their game.

"Why's everyone making noises?" Tirech seconded.

The alpha female chuckled. "Well-"

"I feel weird…" Alden suddenly interrupted him mother.

Everyone looked over at the little purple juvenile at the very middle of the group, in between his brother and the larger _Parasaurolophus_. They inspected him from head to toe, but found nothing out of the ordinary. No blemishes, no scratches, nothing on his pristine lavender body. The only thing odd was him trembling a little.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Neera asked in a soothing voice.

"Yeah, you okay?" Charon went next.

Aladar and Neera's youngest son nodded. "I'm fine. I don't feel sick or anything."

"Then what is it?" his older brother urged for an answer.

"I don't know…" the child stammered. "It's as if...something is calling to me from that mountain. Like something there is asking a question and is looking for an answer."

Moments of silence followed. Neera was the most shocked out of everyone. Not only did her son actually describe what he was feeling, he was feeling the same sensation she was. Hearing her son say that confirmed she was not going insane.

As for the four Protoceratops, they just watched him blankly. They could not speak very well because of their young age and would not be speaking in full sentences until much later. The quadruplets could only utter one word at a time before falling silent. In this case, nothing came from their maws.

"Um...you okay Alden? Because I think you might be going crazy," Tirech unexpectedly chided.

"I'm not crazy!" he defended in a louder tone and looked at everyone in the eye. "I swear!"

"Alden's right," Charon piped, causing everyone to gape at her with surprise. "I can feel it too."

"You can?" the little _Pachyrhinosaurus_ questioned with an eye ridge raised.

The hadrosaur nodded. "It's weird. It's like something wants me to join in. It's like a...feeling of sorts that's just wanting to get out."

Talin and Tirech only gawked at them. They had no idea what they were talking about at all. Neither could they feel whatever they were feeling. All of this spiritual stuff did not make any sense at all. It was like listening to someone that was speaking in another language.

Neera could clearly see they were facing a dilemma. They must not be in tune with the valley as they thought they were. Perhaps it was because they spent more time playing rather than enjoying what they were given. Determined to help, she spoke up with such reverence.

"Close your eyes. Feel the wind and the earth. Relax your being and listen. The calls you are hearing may sound different, but if you listen carefully, they are not many individuals. It is one voice. That tug you feel deep inside you is what bonds you to the call that is asking, 'Are you with me?' Don't think, your heart will guide you to answer."

Both boys stared at her a moment longer before complying. They closed their eyes and listened intently. They became still and allowed themselves to blend with the surroundings. While they did fidget a little, they soon found some ground and relaxed.

Moments turned into minutes with no results. The bellows of every creature in the park echoed in their minds. Their ears felt like they were about to pop from all that noise. So many creatures were sounding off that it was hard to get in tune with themselves. They even tried to tune them out so that they could concentrate...which failed miserably.

Just when they were about to give up, something within the boys clicked. A gentle pull was tugging at their hearts. The roars became synonymous rather than jumbled. Almost as if they were coming from a single entity.

"I feel it! I feel it!" Talin exclaimed with satisfaction. His eyes shot open and beamed at those around him.

"I feel it too!" Tirech did the same.

"There we go," Neera nodded with a smile.

"Guys! We should all join!" the eldest son of the alphas suggested.

"Hey, I was going to say that!" Charon playfully argued.

"Yeah, we should do that! My dad says I need to work on my calls anyway. Gotta strengthen those roarin' muscles!" Tirech giggled.

"I agree. Let's do it," Alden shyly added.

The quartet was about to begin when all four noticed something they completely forgot. Looking over at the far left, they noticed the four baby _Protoceratops_ looking at the ground sadly. They were doing this as a group when they forgot to invite them.

"Uh, you four can join us too," Talin told them.

The smooth-frilled ceratopsians' heads perked up in unison. They shot the biggest smile they could make towards the older individuals. Jumping in glee and squawking loudly were a clear indication that they were happy.

It was not long before they too joined in the spiritual call. Neera's bellow slightly overpowered the others with her higher pitched voice. Talin and Alden were of a slightly lower frequency, but almost as loud. Tirech's bellow sounded like bleats, but there was a small hint of a roar. Charon's was that of a high-sounding trumpet, which was typical of her species. As for the babies, their bleats were not as loud, but they completed the tune.

They were now one with the valley.

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 _At the Therizinosaur Enclosure…_

"Bruno then challenged Hunter-Killer to single combat. Hunter-Killer was intruding on Tribe's water-hole and did not see signs of Bruno's tribesmen. With one SLASH to Hunter-Killer, it ran away! Making Bruno's Tribe control our water-hole for many summers."

Naomi was amused when her boys were looking wide-eyed at the Tribe-Leader's boisterous story.

She, Embo, and their children were planning a play date with Neera and the group of children she was looking after at the Titanosaur Treetops; where their mammal friend Mikiya was at with the rest of Mujaji's Sisterhood. As they were making their way there, Rowyn and Nolan were sidetracked by the sight of Bruno and his Tribe meandering about along their fence line. What was first a greeting turned into a storytelling session of how Bruno effortlessly fought off a carnivore so they could drink in safety without the fear of predation.

Naomi and Embo were a bit cautious when approaching the easily angered Therizinosaurs, —and were even less willing to put their adopted sons in any more danger— but to their surprise, their children happily greeted them and Bruno and his followers responded in kind. The Tribe-Leader was very exuberant and displaying relatively kind actions to the younger _Iguanodons_. Bruno and his Tribesmen were greeting the _Iguanodon_ family and even made some small talk with them as Bruno was regaling the children with his story.

Embo was conversing with Bruno's second-in-command, Dankana; the latter asking of how long he has been together with his mate. Naomi was having a surprisingly peaceful conversation with Xyráfi and Akonízo; the former being Bruno's mate, the latter Dankana's. The females had a thin layer dull brown and white feathers covering their bodies when compared to their brightly plumaged male counterparts. Both tribeswomen were actually quite demure when speaking and spoke with a slight accent, nothing like their mates' loud and threatening hollering that was accompanied by the males' primitive-like dialect. The lighter-hued mother _Iguanodon_ glanced back to Bruno and her boys. It appears that Bruno's stories were keeping Nolan and Rowyn in awe, while Bruno soaked up their admiration like a sponge.

Akonízo giggled at the sight of her Tribe-leader. "Chief Bruno sure likes to puff out his plumage! I don't know why you've chosen such a noisy mate Xyráfi."

"Bruno is a _very_ blunt creature and family means everything to him; including our friends." The mate of the Chief craned her neck down to Naomi and adopted an apologetic look. "I am sorry for the madness that our Tribe has wrought Naomi. Our Blood-Rage is an unfortunate holdover from a bygone age from when my people were still Hunter-Killers ourselves. It usually comes out when we get a bit too excited."

"It is alright Xyráfi. While everyone in the valley was injured, it could have been a lot worse." The turquoise female said.

"Thank goodness for that. Bruno would be torn up if he had accidently killed a bystander who did him no wrong." Xyráfi sighed as she delicately scratched an itch on her neck with her elongated talons. She then looked again to the sight of her mate, who was now miming out a part of his story to the children. "Bruno loves kids, and we have been trying for a clutch for sometime."

Naomi was surprised that such an aggressive male was also such a caring creature towards his family and friends. She walked up to the enclosure towards Bruno's mate with a smile. "I'm sure you two will be great parents Xyráfi. It'll happen, I'm sure of it."

Akonízo had a mischievous look on her features as she coyly spoke. "Maybe Naomi can offer some _strategies_ for you Xyráfi. You know, ways to _plunge_ Chief Bruno's 'spear' into—"

"Do not say such _icky-things like THAT Follower-_ _Akonízo. You do that again, Tribeswoman-_ _Xyráfi will SPEAR YOU!"_ The gentle voiced _Therizinosaurus_ female's face was red and reverted back to a primitive-like tone and splayed her scythe-claws the more she was flustered at Akonízo's double-entendre. Xyráfi noticed her fellow female's face only showing mirth and reverted back to normal with an 'eep', embarrassed from her slip into her species' dialect. "Hehehe… Um, ignore that Naomi. Akonízo treats mating like a joke ever since Nigel and Hazel rescued our Tribe."

"Oh goodness… It's okay Xyráfi." Naomi replied, her face equally red from the innuendo.

Before it could get more awkward, the group at the enclosure heard the symphony of calls traveling through the air.

"Dankana hears noises. What are those noises?" The second-in-command Scythe-Claw asked as he, Embo, Bruno, and the kids walked up to the group of females.

"Is it more danger to Bruno and Tribe?" The Chief snarled as he tried to zero in on where the threat could be coming from. "Bruno will SPEAR HUNTER-KILLER!"

"No Bruno, there is no threat." Embo managed to say to placate the herbivorous theropod. "It sounds like a 'Call of Unity'. It was something Aladar made when he was made leader."

"Yeah it is a call for everyone to lend their voice so we can be one and powerful together as a family." Little Nolan said from along side his brother. His simplified explanation caught Bruno's immediate interest.

"Hmm… So Chief Aladar call for voices so his family is powerful?" The Chief mused aloud before giving a boastful grin, as he stood as tall as he could. "Then Bruno and Tribe add their strong voices to call and be powerful too! Second-Dankana! Mate-Xyráfi! Female-Akonízo!"

Each _Therizinosaurus_ understood their Chief's unvoiced order and reared up to join their leader's height. A moment later, the Tribe nasally shrieked into the air, adding to the series of calls in the sky. Not being able to resist the feeling of solidarity, Naomi's family joined in to the chorus of prehistoric calls.

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 _At Troodon Grove…_

"Yeah and so I was minding my own business until I felt the ground get all shaky! I thought to myself, ' _That's funny, I don't think the ground was suppose to move like that.'_ You know, since it's ground. Then, I saw this HUGE crowd of Residents racing each other. I'll admit, it was pretty scary—they almost stepped on me—, but then we all gathered to Aladar's home for a very big surprise party! SURPRISE! Then we had a bunch of—"

Rascal was resisting beating his head against a tree. He was currently enduring Espantos's endless jabbering and was chatting up a storm about subjects that the _Troodon_ had no interest with. He would have left, but Espantos would always follow from the other side of the fence, and if he went deeper into his enclosure, the Terror Bird would just screech after him and yell at the top of his lungs what he had to say; and considering Espantos's lungs were large for extended periods of running, he had a VERY loud and VERY annoying voice. As the _Phorusrhacos_ blathered on, the _Troodon_ perked up when he heard others calling out in the sky.

"Hey, you hear that?" Rascal asked suddenly.

Espantos, in a rare act, cut himself off from his ranting and cocked his ear to the series of calls traveling above his head. It took him several minutes of musing to himself before the Terror Bird compared it to the calls of Miocene South America. Espantos gasped happily as he felt the familiarity of this different yet similar choir of prehistoric voices.

"Oh. My. GOSH! It sounds like a Family Gatherer's celebratory call! New friend-Aladar and the other new friends must have something worth celebrating in Prehistoric Park!" Espantos warbled in happiness as he snapped his attention to the smaller dinosaur. "Sorry little 'Rat-Scale', but I gotta go. I have to spread the word to the others Residents to CELEBRATE!"

The _Phorusrhacos_ sprinted off before Rascal could be outraged at the bird's mispronunciation of his name. Espantos was screeching aloud, joining the calls floating through the air, and scaring passing park keepers that he narrowly maneuvered out of the way towards _Deinosuchus Dip_. The omnivorous biped listened a while longer before huffing and stalking into his enclosure's trees. Trying to find a quiet place to nap and resist the pull deep inside him to call out and join the noisy symphony.

He had a reputation to maintain after all.

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 _Deinosuchus Dip…_

Irwin watched the retreating form of Espantos, who was still screeching skyward, as he sprinted off into the park. "What in the world?"

The ancient crocodile was at the sandy banks of his lake in the company of Lethe and Sarge. He was entertaining the Land-Walkers while the human keepers fixed up the damages done to his wooden bridge during the latest break out. It helped both parties since Irwin was bored at the moment and Sarge wanted to hear some old stories of fights against other predators; Lethe was there to make sure her close ceratopsian friend didn't do anything stupid. Just as he was getting to a story of how he received his burns on his back scales, Prehistoric Park's zany Terror Bird zoomed by squawking at the top of his lungs and yelling something about a "family cheer". It puzzled the three ancient creatures on the lakeshore.

"Is that featherhead always like that?" Lethe's sophisticated tone said as she watched the avian's retreating form.

Irwin just grunted as he shifted back to his two guests. "For as long as I've been here, Espantos just seems to run off of sunshine and rainbows. The bloke doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body."

Before Lethe could continue speaking, Sarge was the first one to perk up to listen to the symphony of calls traveling through the air. "Hey Lethe, do you hear that?"

Now that the park's _Phorusrhacos_ wasn't squawking in the area, the _Parasaurolophus_ and _Deinosuchus_ heard the distance prehistoric cries as well. Both Lethe and Sarge understood the meaning to it very well, but Irwin was perplexed as he dragged himself out of his lake and lifted his head off the ground to listen to the new sound.

"What the heck is all that noise mate?" The prehistoric croc rumbled. Both of his guests turned to him with a smile.

"It's a call that our Alpha makes to create solidarity for the Herd." Lethe gracefully informed.

"Yeah, Aladar is probably thankin' all the folks here in his own little way and including the other Residents as part of the Herd." The red-hued ceratopsian chuckled. Irwin was interested that his fast friend thought so highly of his neighbors so quickly.

"Huh, never been part of a 'Herd' before," the _Deinosuchus_ thoughtfully mused. "Closest grouping I've been a part of were 'frenzy rolls' when hunting in the past… Heh, first time for everything mates!"

With that said, Irwin roared a proud crocodilian rumble, surprising the two herbivores and park keepers in the area. Sarge was the first to drop his surprise and joined in with his own gravelly bellow. Lethe could only shake her head before also adding her own elegant honks into the sky.

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 _Triceratops_ _Creek_ …

At the home of the _Triceratops_ pair, construction was occurring. Many workers were erecting and repairing the fences, replacing the gates, and cleaning the debris around the enclosure. While this was happening, off to the side was a blond ponytailed woman named Sarah, Suzanne's veterinary assistant. After Prehistoric Park's second breakout, many employees were spread out to get the park repair as soon as possible. Sarah was one of the people skilled enough to attend to the Residents without Suzanne's supervision. Although after receiving her Communicator from Marcus, this was the first time actually attending to a Resident she could fully _understand_.

"OW! Hey, easy on those swabs Sarah. My skull is the part of me that's reinforced. Everywhere else is tender and needs to be treated with care." Theo complained as he endured the young vet cleaning his wounds and replacing his bandages. Suddenly, a tail-swipe lightly swatted the side of his head, courtesy of the female sharing his enclosure.

"Don't be such a baby, Theo. You just went up against a carnivore and lived! I think you can handle a few stings." Ellie huffed at the male's low pain tolerance.

"Just because I survived getting mauled, that doesn't make stings any less annoying to deal with." Theo grumpily replied as he grimaced again at the vet's disinfectant.

The female Trike huffed again, but leaned closer to the attending animal doctor; who was still a bit shell shocked from this new experience. "He will be alright, right?"

Sarah was snapped out of her amazement and hid a slight giggle at the female _Triceratops'_ whispered tone. It was no longer like caring for an unintelligent animal, but like one of her many friends doting over their boyfriend. Sarah thought that was adorable and couldn't help up crack a grin.

"Your boyfriend will be fine Ellie. This isn't my first time patching up a Resident. You should have seen Terrance when his sister nearly mauled him." The veterinary assistant commented as she finished replacing the male ceratopsian's bandages, Ellie averting her eyes in embarrassment. "There, that's the last of them. Make sure you take it easy Theo. Ellie, keep an eye on Theo's wounds and be sure to tell any of the keepers if his wound gets inflamed. Me or Suzanne will come back and clean the wound again. He should be better in a few days, so no _naughtiness_ from either of you two until then."

"Wha- that's no- we're just- SARAH!" Ellie shrieked as her grey toned face flushed red.

"Ahem, thank you Sarah!" Theo hastily said, equally flabbergasted at the blonde animal doctor's teasing. "We'll tell you if there are any problems."

Sarah couldn't help but snicker at the two Cretaceous herbivores' blushing faces. Theo and Ellie were more like embarrassed teens, rather than powerful prehistoric creatures.

She could get used to these new interactions with the Residents. Before her newly acquired Communicator, the Residents were just unintelligible animals that she and the other employees to care for. Now, Prehistoric Park was slowly gaining the ability to understand their prehistoric charges as if they were any other person.

Before Sarah could tease the _Triceratops_ pair further, the area was filled with piercing screeches and squawks. Everyone in the area turned in the direction the sudden noise. Speeding through the open hole in _Triceratops Creek's_ fence was Espantos, who had his trademark excitable persona and shouting at the top of his lungs.

"EVERYONE, LISTEN TO THE CRIES OF TOGETHERNESS AND CALL OUT TO THE SKY! HAPPINESS AND FRIENDSHIP ARE FOR THOSE WHO ARE PART OF THE FLOCK!" The Terror Bird sprinted past the stunned _Triceratops_ pair and human vet assistant. He then backpedaled and stopped in front of the three witnesses to his zaniness. "Hi Sarah! Hi Theo and Theo's girlfriend! Be sure to join in on the Gatherer Celebration call!"

With that, the _Phorusrhacos_ ran off again and zipped to the opened gate of the enclosure, nearly giving the workers a heart attack as the bird of prey nimbly evaded around their forms, and sprinted further into the park.

As Theo and Ellie were left confused, they perked up when they heard the many roars and bellows in the distance working in concerto. It sounded like all the Residents were crying out to add their voices to the song dancing in the air. Despite the oddness of it, the two _Triceratopses_ felt a pull that many of the other prehistoric animals felt at the moment; a sense of togetherness with their fellow Residents. At an unspoken cue, both Theo and Ellie bellowed joyously into the air, their barks catching Sarah and most of the workers by surprise. The primal pull in their hearts telling them to answer the skyward noise and show their support of this sense of solidarity. Even though Sarah did not understand the context of this new phenomenon, she felt inside herself that this was important and simply stood by and witnessed this amazing event.

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 _T. rex_ _Hill…_

The call created by those on the mountain was even heard by two certain teenaged rexes. They were about to gorge in on two large carcasses of cows when that call erupted. Because of their heroic efforts in containing Diablo during the breakout, Hazel had cut their sentence short. Actually, it was thanks to the _Carnotaurus_ that they finally got along. The wall that separated them was taken down, and they shared one compound again.

The first to notice the call was Terrence, who lifted his head up when the call erupted. He was then followed by his sister as she listened in. They remained silent as the roars from the distant mountain far from the park continued before they faded. The moments of silence followed that, only to be broken by bellows from other parts of the park.

"Hey, do you hear that?" the male carnivore questioned his sister.

It may have been a rhetorical question, but Matilda had no intention of smacking her sibling for a question like that. She scoffed and playfully nudged her brother. "I'm not deaf you know. Sounds like our new neighbors are kicking up quite a storm."

It was then that both felt a strange pull from their hearts. They gasped as that feeling permeated their bodies. Neither of them could explain what was happening. Something wanted to come out, and there was no fighting it. Not even their strong will handed down by their ancestors could protect them from the urge. As a result, they relented, but not before turning it into something fun.

The male _Tyrannosaurus_ eyed his sister, who was staring at the mountain. "Bet my roar is louder than yours."

She took that as a challenge and guffawed. "Oh shut up!"

Terrence let out the loudest roar he could muster. His sister followed suit, contributing to the combined call back. For the first time, after four years of driving each other apart, they were a family again. And they had the humans to thank for that.

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 _The Bug House..._

Just like with most of the enclosures in the park, the Bug House was going through a lot of reconstruction. However, this place was receiving the most attention due to frequent visits from different keepers nearly every day. Electricians worked arduously on repairing the oxygen, temperature, water, and lighting systems in the indoor enclosure, making them better and more resilient than before. Those items were of utmost importance as they were vital in keeping the insect Residents alive.

Except now, the bugs were left alone to revel in some privacy. The keepers had just left to attend to some other business. Parts of the enclosure still needed to be adjusted, like the foliage in the corners needed to be arranged, but those were details that could be handled later. The food for the insects was already laid out for them, including some delicious green frogs for the two carnivorous bugs.

Unlike their previous home, the new bug enclosure was something to behold. More vegetation and foliage covered the whole area, nearly blanking out the ceiling with the primitive branches. A couple of false baobab trees were added in to complete the jungle scenery, thus giving the insects more areas to traverse to higher elevations. A pond that was connected to a flowing water stream diverted from one of the park's waterways now made its way through the enclosure like a natural system. Keepers had to adjust the entrance and exits with special tarps so as to prevent large amounts of oxygen from escaping.

Other than the new additions made to their new enclosure, the bugs felt at home more than before. Once again, the humans' hard work had paid off as they frolicked in their new enclosure. The sounds of the stream and the fresh input of oxygen rejuvenated them. The silence of the indoor forest relaxed their beings.

But those moments of silence were interrupted by the faint sounds of bellows from outside. All three of them stopped their meandering at the sudden noise. Ben, who was resting near the new pond, reared his oversized flattened body up for a listen. His spindly antennae flicked up and down with minute crackles. Twitch landed on a nearby log and cocked his head in confusion. As for Scorpio, she was about to ambush an unsuspecting frog when she screeched in surprise at the unknown calls, causing the green prey to hop away from her.

" **Jungle-Bugs hear that?"** Ben slowly iterated as his head turned towards the nearest window. The barrier to the outside world had reinforced glass, strong enough to be considered bulletproof. Due to the latest breakout, the keepers did not want to risk another disaster in this jungle home, so putting in strong windows was a must. But that did not prevent the bugs from hearing everything outside.

The moment the _Arthropleura_ said that, the sounds died down, but only to be replaced by louder roars moments later. Each bug twitched and chittered in shock at the new occurrence.

" _Twitch hear that! New friends making loud chitter-noises!"_ the dragonfly exclaimed at twice the speed of a normal speaker's.

"Big scaly-things and furry-creatures too loud! Can't think on food!" Scorpio complained.

Just then, as if they could not explain it enough, both of those insects began to vocalize themselves. The _Meganeura_ buzzed his wings as violently as he could. Scorpio clicked her pincers together as if they were primitive castanets.

Their head bug leader turned his great body at them, craning his armored form like a giant snake's. Although he bore no facial expression through his insect features, he was clearly in complete wonder at what his fellow insects were doing.

" **Why Jungle-Bugs noise-making with neighbors? Not likes Bugs to make noisy chatter-sounds,"** was what he told them in his slow, meandered tone.

" _Twitch don't know!"_ he answered in the twice as fast voice tone he had. _"Something make Twitch go crazy!"_

"Scorpio too!" the primitive scorpion seconded. "Something inside! Something want to burst! Scorpio can't help it!"

As if her answer was surprising enough, Ben felt something strange within his powerful chitin. Sure enough, a call was wanting to get out. In all of his long years as a massive, intimidating, arthropod, he had never experienced something like this. The feeling he was experiencing felt like something needed to be answered. A creature inside wanted to get out. And if he did not comply, he felt like he was going to burst.

" **Ben feelings it too! Must answer noisy call!"** Ben told everyone, though he was not feeling threatened. The feeling inside did not feel dangerous. In fact, it felt like an invitation. Sure enough, he joined in the bug chorus. His species had a way of making a lot of sound, and that was shaking their chitin bodies from side to side. Rattling erupted from the giant bug, completing the jungle chorus.

The Bug House was now ablaze with the answers from the Carboniferous insects for the call of unity.

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 _Ornithomimus_ _Pond…_

At the _Ornithomimus_ pond, things were getting back to normal. Bob and some other keepers had already fixed up the broken fence line a few days ago. In fact, it was this area that needed the least amount of attention.

Ornith and her followers were enjoying another beautiful day. She sat on her favorite spot, a little spot under a tree next to the pond, and watched her herd mates. Most of the females were tending to the eggs they laid some time ago. The nests were either hidden near some brush away from the main portion of the compound, or covered by some leaves out in the open. Time and time again, the females would return to tend to their eggs. There were even times Suzanne, Nigel, and some keepers would come in to check up on them. While their intentions were good, the females were now more cautious at this time.

Ornith understood that. She was in their position too. It was instinct to protect the new generation from any danger, including predators. The grey-blue runner herself hatched her first generation in the park, with a bit of help from her mate was somewhere in the compound.

Padded footsteps alerted the leader to look behind her. She expected it to be another female coming in for a drink, but instead it was someone else. The brighter hued male came to the edge of the pond and then looked back at her with a questioning look. Ornith knew who this was the instant she saw the large black spot on the back of his neck.

"Are you alright, Leader-Ornith?" Axel questioned her.

"I'm fine, Follower-Axel. Just resting," she replied. "I'm a little tired at the moment."

"You still shaken up about that huge breakout? It's not something to get over easily. I still have nightmares of that horned giant coming at me in a rage." The leader's herd mate and son explained. He then shook his shoulders as a way to shrug off some concern. "I can't believe you and the others experienced that in the Homeland."

"Yes, that's what it was like before. But now we are in a safer place," Ornith answered with dignity. "Though I do wonder as to how the humans would prevent any more outbreaks. But...as you and the humans would say, at least we got to stretch out legs."

She shot him a grin, which caused him to do the same. _Ornithomimus_ , and others like them, relied upon each other for safety. It was why they remained in flocks, to be among others that looked out for them. Though they rarely looked upon each other as mother and son, the two runners felt that close bond in that moment.

Suddenly, bellows coming from the mountains north of the pond tore their attention away. Others of their flock joined them as they curiously listened to the roars. The ones who were wiser and more experienced in dealing with dangers knew full well that the sounds did not seem distressed. If they did, they would be on edge by now.

No, the sounds they were hearing were that of herbivores and a flyer. The deep bellows and the screeching from the mountain sounded triumphant. The phenomenon did not last long. The fading echoes signaled the end.

At least, for that part of the occurrence. The _Ornithomimus_ looked around them as the entire valley exploded in a frenzy of sounds. Residents of each kind roared in response to the ones who started the call. Even the roars they recognized as carnivorous joined in the strange song.

"Hey Leader-Ornith?" Axel gasped and called for his mother.

"Yes? What is it, Follower-Axel?" the herd leader responded, but not tearing away her attention from the mountain.

"I feel weird. I feel like...joining in for some reason. It feels like a rock in my stomach wants to come out or something."

"Oh good, because I'm feeling that too," Ornith confirmed her suspicions. It was true, not long after the whole valley erupted in song, something within her was tugging at her heart. From her son's explanation, something was calling to them to join in the celebration. And it was something she could not resist.

"Something's telling me we shouldn't dawdle any further and go along with it," Axel smirked and looked over at his leader.

"For once, we're thinking the same thing," the head _Ornithomimus_ leader chuckled.

Together, they roared up to the sky in a flurry of screeches and squawks of their own. This prompted the others in the herd to join in as well. Each of them chirped intermittently, only to stop just to take a breath before resuming. Ornith and her troupe contributed to the call of unity, this time out of joy rather than fear.

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 _Titanosaur Treetops…_

Over at the Titanosaur Treetops, a flurry of action was occurring. The female elephants, sauropods of both kinds, the prosauropod Troop, and even _Microraptors_ were conversing among each other. The breakout had brought about some fear within their hearts, but each group's leaders hoped that feeling would ebb away with time. In Mujaji's case, she had to push her xenophobic followers to meet with the neighbors again. Her sisters were clearly shaken up about the breakout. The matriarch understood that, but hoped that time would heal their trauma. It was a good thing the bull elephants in the distant recesses of the park were not part of the frenzy, otherwise there may have been more casualties.

A number of the species talked to each other as they ate their meals or walked about, whether it was in the shade of the trees or out in the open portions of the paddock. The sauropods freely grazed on the treetops or the edible vegetation that grew on the ground. The flight-gifted _Microraptors_ soared through the air as they hunted for insects. As for the elephants, they scooped up clumps of hay that were given to them in wagons thanks to the humans.

The sight was something to behold. Baylene, Yin, Martha, Mujaji, Oddie and Thena, and even Breezy were watching with satisfaction at the peace that permeated in the atmosphere. They watched their species interact with each other from a far off corner of the enclosure. For the past few minutes, they had been sharing amongst themselves about memories before their lives in the park. Now they were watching the beautiful moment before them.

Even four little girls running around, playing a game of 'Monkey in the Middle' with her favorite red ball, completed the scene. The young elephant Mikiya used her trunk to bat the ball to the lavender-skinned Maya. The object bounded over the air, and then was whacked to the right with a tail shot towards the pink-hued Saya. In the middle of the makeshift triangle was the emerald-colored Kaya, who chose to be the player to try and catch the ball.

"Now this is the life…" Thena sighed, enjoying the tranquility. Her response was met by a soft head nudge of her mate Oddie to her face.

"I'm glad everyone is recovering from that traumatic experience weeks ago," the alpha _Plateosaurus_ acknowledged.

"Oh I could not agree more," the towering Baylene eloquently added. She then turned to Yin to give out a comment of her own on the conversation at hand. A frown creased on her face. "When you told me this place experienced a rampage before, I could not believe it. Now that I have been in one first hand, I believe you. It was a frightening experience…"

"I told you Baylene," the _Borealosaurus_ said with a slight downward tone. "Things in this park are always eventful. But they are things that the humans can't handle. Plus, we took care of things successfully in the end."

"Indeed," Mujaji agreed offhandedly. The leaders and representatives looked over at the head elephant with inquiring expressions. "It will take awhile for my Sisterhood to recover. But it is thanks to everyone that things are getting back to normal."

"Plus, if things were boring around here, my Guild along with Espantos would be out of business," Breezy mused from atop the _Brachiosaurus'_ back.

"Regardless of whatever comes our way, so long as we are together, everything will come out just fine," Martha the Mammoth reassured everyone.

The group answered with sounds of agreement. Right when they were about to go to a different subject, they heard bellows coming from the mountain. The activity within the forest ceased; all of them turned towards the imposing landmark. Curiosity and wonder filled the minds of those in the area. Url, who was rolling around in a pile of hay laid out by the younglings earlier, went upright at the sound of the first roar. Even the children stopped playing just to see what was going on. For a while, silence befell the giant group.

The curiosity piqued when the entire park made noises of their own. Some who were a little nervous by the new situation shifted in their positions. Murmurs and questions filled the air as they witnessed what was going on. The leaders who were wondering about the questions themselves were also interrupted by the younglings that were once playing.

"Auntie Martha, Mama, why is everyone being loud?" Mikiya, always the curious one, asked her guardians, and by extent all of the adults.

All of them looked down to see the girls standing before them. Their eyes radiated that same innocence that they always had. All of the elders stammered as they tried to come up with an answer for that question, only to come up fruitless.

"Um...this is going to sound odd," Kaya imposed, breaking the speechlessness in the group. "But I kind of feel like letting go."

A gasp along with a slight giggle escaped the maw of the mammoth. "Oh, whatever do you mean?"

"You could just go anywhere," Breezy mused, stifling a giggle.

The young _Iguanodon_ shook her head. "No, I mean something wants to come out. I don't know what it is, but it feels like a call of some sorts."

"Yeah!" Saya nodded in agreement. "I know Daddy, Flia, and Eema are in that mountain. I recognize those noises anywhere. They're the ones making those sounds. But something inside me wants to join in the craze!"

"Me too! Me too!" Maya jumped in excitement.

"I think we should all join too!" Mikiya suggested.

The adults were silent for a moment, but then smiled down at the children. Even Url panted and lolled his tongue out, though it looked like he had no response. The elders looked at one another, silently gesturing their comrades to go along with it. It did not take much for them to come to an agreement.

"You are right," Martha agreed with the girls. "I too am feeling that sensation. I sense no trouble within the earth, and no screams from anywhere else. Therefore, we are in no danger."

"Oh my, come to think of it, I remember something like this before," Baylene remembered. Every eye fell on the tall sauropod, but she was not fazed by the new attention. "Aladar did a call like this some time after we arrived in the Nesting Grounds last year. It was a call to unite, to symbolize us all as one family. I believe he is now doing the same."

"If that is so, then I agree with Martha. We should all join as well," Yin vouched for her fellow sauropod companion.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's get everyone to join the party!" Breezy banded everyone together.

Within a matter of moments, the Titanosaur treetops were filled with the sounds of carnivores and herbivores alike. Trumpets from the elephants, bellows from the sauropods, honks from the _Iguanodon_ girls, and quips from the Microraptors filled the air. The lone Ankylosaur barked with the whole group, similar to what a dog would do, except of a deeper tone, more raspy tone. The songs they created echoed through the valley like an explosion.

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 _Valley Sector...near the Herd border_

Elsewhere, a certain group of mammals were relaxing amongst the elevated security of the newly constructed gathering tree in the valley. The large vegetation was fake, but it did provide the creatures with a good place to gather. The tree was large and thick like a sequoia tree in North America. Leaves hung from the tops in an evergreen status. Structures that looked like roots but were part of the trunk twisted down to the base. Vines that were attached to the curving branches by hooks or draped on the limbs hung from above.

To the humans who constructed it, it looked like it could rival the Tree of Life in Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. But to the lemurs, and those who were familiar with the valley in the days long gone, it was just like the tree that stood guard near the lake in the Nesting Grounds. It was a nearly perfect replica of a symbol of their old home.

Though the lemurs wished the tree was real, it was something that they could get used to. The vegetation was not of the earth, yet it was the perfect place for gatherings, especially during meals. Most preferred to sleep among the true trees in the valley rather than retire in the false branches of this false landmark. However, the tree was the best place the lemurs could get delicious food. Keepers would go there to drop off cart-fulls of fruits and vegetables that their modern day descendants gorge on. The food was different in their taste buds, but nutritious at the same time. This time brought about new mysteries each day.

High noon always signaled the time for lunch for the ancient mammals. Two keepers already carted in small wagons filled with apple slices, sliced oranges, banana chips, and grapes before departing. The routine was simple; fill them with fruits, leave them for a while, then come back for the wagons. Because the lemurs of the distant past were so similar to the modern day Verreaux's Sifaka, the humans had no trouble preparing their meals.

A large number of the lemur clan was gorging in on the 21st century feast. But there were some that chose to groom themselves before getting messy. Especially five certain lemurs that were high up in the large tree.

Aya and Zini were cuddling in each other's embrace as they enjoyed the view of the herd they learned to live with in the near distance. The events that happened prior brought about slight fear and apprehension to them, but now they finally had the time to truly appreciate life...and each other's company.

Yar was taking a nap near the edge of the branch. As the new patriarch of the clan, he had duties that would make him move around a lot, such as looking after the younglings or helping to resolve domestic issues. All of which would make him tired. It was a normal thing for him, and anyone seeing him sleep during midday is common.

The matriarch, Plio, was busy grooming the fur on her daughter, Suri. It was around this time when they spent quality time with each other. Like most primates, grooming was a way of reinforcing family links and social structures. In this case, it was a way of mother and daughter to be together. The little female enjoyed the soft touches of her mother's palms as they brushed against her fur for any minor annoyances.

The day was went on quietly, until the calls from the mountain sounded. All of the lemurs stopped what they were doing and gazed up at the structure. Even Yar was shaken from his sleep by the distant bellows. The mammals listened in on the new sounds; from what they could hear, they were made up of three animals, two of them belonging to herbivores and one of them belonging to a flyer. The silence that followed eased their tensions a little...until the entire valley erupted in a prehistoric cacophony.

A few of the members jumped in surprise, some of them dropping their food on the ground. Those that were in the trees were slightly shaken by it, but not too frightened. They were used to the usual outbursts of the large creatures they learned to coexist with. But the new sounds coming from the other direction of the valley was what surprised them.

"Now what in the world is going on?" Yar gruffed out a complaint. The sounds he and the rest of the clan were hearing were a myriad of sounds, ranging from elephant, to large herbivores, to even the odd calls of a couple carnivores. All of which puzzled him.

"Isn't it obvious Dad?" Plio chuckled, glancing at her father then back at the mountain. "It's what Aladar has done in the past. He's calling everyone together."

"Well he should have told us earlier about it!" Zini supported his father's minor shock. "The sounds everyone was making nearly made us fall off the tree!"

"Um...actually it was just you," Aya giggled. She slightly punched him in the shoulder, making him recoil in minor discomfort. The nearly pure-white lemur looked away from him, as if to show that she was innocent. Zini saw through that ploy and tickled her in the stomach, all the while making Suri laugh from a nearby branch. The sounds of their laughter filled the air for just a few seconds before they died down.

Just then, something caused each of the mammals to fall silent. Every single one of them looked over at the mountain in complete wonder at the new sensation they were feeling. They had felt this before, back when they were still in the Nesting Grounds. Something was calling to them, and it was something that required an answer.

"Mom, do you feel that?" Suri inquired her mother.

"Yes Suri," she replied with a nod. "We must join in as well."

All of the lemurs smiled before letting out whoops and chatters of their own. Together, along with the lemurs on the ground, they sent their answers up to the sky to the beings they believed were calling to them. The symphony of the valley grew once more with the sounds of prehistoric primates.

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 _Carnotaurus_ _Quarry_ …

While everyone was contributing to the call of unity, a certain part of the park remained quiet. Not many humans or Residents ventured into this area, unless they were a _Phorusrhacos_ that was intent on delivering daily news or keepers that were making a quick delivery. To everyone else, it was because of a certain carnivore that would strike fear into those who intruded in his territory.

After the recent breakout, Diablo found himself in much more solitude than usual. It was no surprise that everyone feared him. The only exceptions being the humans that delivered his food or the incessant Miocene predator that always passed by his new home.

Unlike all of the Residents within Prehistoric Park, Diablo chose not to partake in this victorious venture. The bull lizard had no intention of joining in something that did not pertain to him. He caused much damage to the park. Partaking in this event was pointless.

The other reason was that his last encounter with the human Hazel left him with regret. The past run-ins with the herd offered him a chance at food and a way to get back at the loss of his mate. Now, after the human told him they had nothing to do with his mate's death, he was left with more confusion than ever. Trusting the humans and tolerating the Residents were the words that rang incessantly in his ears. Attacking everyone else in the future seemed pointless if they caused him no harm, even if it was just out of defense.

He lay down on his stomach, facing away from the mountain in his enclosure. The beatings he received from those herbivores, the flyer, and the predators like him were slowly healing. But he took them as a message to never mess with the beings of the valley. His revenge had been foiled, and his mind was left with even more questions on the creatures he questioned on viewing as his enemies.

"Stupid plant-suckers…" he muttered. The large predator shut his eyes tight as he did his best to go to sleep.

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 _Old Gotoma's Grove…_

The roars from the valley echoed back to the mountain. Aladar, Flia, and Eema smiled at the response they got. All creatures, either from this time or from the distant past, answered back to strengthen the bond of togetherness. This valley was…IS their home. It may look different now, and be in a different time, but they knew they belonged.

"Theory confirmed," Nigel mused.

"So…you're okay with me going after an _Allosaurus_ now?" Hazel asked her mentor and gave him an eager look. It had been several weeks since she had asked that question. Now that the near-financial crisis had been resolved and the repairs were being done to the park after the breakout, there should not be much of a problem with her desire to go on another mission.

"Hmm...Well since we had some problems to overcome," he replied. "And you helped in taking care of those situations, I guess there isn't a reason for me to say no."

The girl gave him the biggest smile she could make before embracing him in a tight squeeze. The dinosaurs and pterosaur around them witnessed that event. Though they did not say anything, they were glad to hear that everything was right again. The two separated after a few seconds, courtesy of Hazel not wanting to look like a little kid in front of her friends.

"Hey Hazel?" Aladar called to her.

The girl looked up at the herd leader, straightening her shirt in the process. "What?"

"I've been wondering this for a while. Flia mentioned you outran a couple of raptors before you met the herd. Those suckers were pretty fast when I encountered them. So that begs the question: how fast can you run?"

Hazel shrugged her shoulders. "Um…not that fast? I told you, humans need certain vehicles if we want to match the speed of a dinosaur."

"Come now Aladar," Flia told him off and placed a wing on her partner. Hazel jumped at the sudden feel of the clawed fingers, but then relaxed. Nigel, who saw the pterosaur coming to join her on the leader's other side, moved away to give them space.

"Hazel can't beat you in a race…but maybe WE can."

"What? Here and now? If I start running down this mountain, you two would have a height advantage. That's not fair." he mused at the flight duo.

"Oh we'll give you a head start," the _Pteranodon_ mentioned. "We're not that evil."

Hazel gave him a devious smirk. "Last one to the valley has to help Nero with today's chores?"

Once she said that, the _Iguanodon_ bolted for the edge of the grove. He disappeared into the darkness of the forest, leaving the stunned _Pteranodon_ , humans, and _Styracosaurus_ behind.

"I'll take that as a 'Challenge accepted'," the girl laughed and mounted on Flia. The two faced the valley and waited for the form of Aladar to leave the forest. It only took him a few minutes to make it to forest edge. When they saw him, the duo launched from the cliff and soared through the sky.

"Those youngsters," Eema grumbled with laughter. "Always ready to greet a new day. You raised that girl right you know."

Nigel glanced at the elder horned-one before returning his gaze to the race that had just started. "We all did."

"Aladar's right," she said, now looking at the head of Prehistoric Park. "This is a new place with new folks. Who knows what the future will bring."

"Well Eema, none of us really know what changes, big or small lie ahead," he told her. Nigel swallowed and continued. "But one thing is certain, our journey isn't over. We can only hope that, in some way, shape or form, our legacy here will be remembered."

Eema eyed the human next to her before looking back at the valley. He was right. Each new day would bring about new discoveries, new problems, and new resolutions. In fact, she felt that their lives were like stories, just like the story of their journey to the Nesting Grounds. Each day was like a new chapter, with a newer one coming with a new dawn. But some stories do have endings. And those endings would mark the start of another story.

Both human and ceratopsian watched the Residents, humans, and herds from the vantage point they were on. They smiled, knowing that everyone here has a future.

 _Marc: Well...I really don't know what to say, but it's been a long journey. The story's over._

 _Darksage: Hold on Marc. I think you mean THIS story is over. There are still many adventures ahead for our heroes._

 _Marc: Hey I was getting to that. But I think you all know what's going to happen next._

 _Darksage: Yeah, and it deals with a certain Jurassic predator. But, there are more surprises ahead for our heroes. We don't want to say anything, as we don't want to ruin the surprise. That would be cheating. Also, like what we said before, with the start of a new year comes more workloads. This means we may not be able to get to the sequel immediately. But rest assured, we will return soon with another adventure._

 _Marc: So I suppose this is goodbye...for now._

 _Darksage: Yup! Until we meet again! Cue the valley roars! *everyone in the valley joins in*_

 _Marc: Really? That one?_

 _Darksage: What? The ending to that movie was just awesome! How else should this story end?_

 _Marc: Whatever. Catch you guys later!_

 _Darksage: Bye!_


	28. ELF Extras: Soundtracks

**Here are the music compilations that best describe the story. The instrumental section is the list of songs used in the story. Once again, we don't own the songs/artists.**

 **Vocal Soundtrack:**

Enjoy the Silence by Depoche Mode (Hazel's conflicting feelings on the truth about the meteor)

Zero Gravity by David Archuleta (Hazel and Flia's flight around the valley)

You'll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins (The Bonds of Friendship)

You Don't Know You're Beautiful by One Direction (Zini meeting Aya)

The Waiting One by All That Remains (The herd making Hazel an outcast)

Everything is Lost by Maggie Eckford (Neera with Martha at the Herd Grounds)

Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson (Waking up in the hospital)

Bother by Corey Taylor (Hazel's return to the park after the hospital incident)

Just a Little Faster by There for Tomorrow (Aladar vs Nero)

The Vengeful One by Disturbed (Diablo's Theme)

Bodies by Drowning Pool (Played on Marcus' radio during the breakout)

Headstrong by Trapt (Aladar vs Diablo in the valley)

Emergency by Paramore (Main theme)

Make it Shine by Victoria Justice (Theme song for Mikiya and the _Iguanodon_ girls)

All the Small Things by Blink 182 (Theme song for Talin, Alden, Charon, and Tirech)

Hail to the King by Avenged Sevenfold (Theme song of Terrence and Matilda)

 **Instrumental Soundtrack:**

Beautiful Day by Daniel Pemberton

Fighter by Crystal Strings

The Courtship by James Newton Howard

A Difficult Choice by Daniel Hildebrand

Meteor Strike by Daniel Pemberton

Saving the World by Daniel Pemberton

The Offering by Tolga Kashif and Simon Hanhart

They're All Gone by James Newton Howard

Sad Romance (Piano Cover) by Thao Nguygen Xanh

Missing You by Gabriel Quintana

New Beginning by Audiomachine

Ascendance by Recordladel

Under the Stars by Derek Fiechter

The Great Escape by Daniel Pemberton

Final Stand by Zhao Shen

Forgiveness by Shane Walsh

Epilogue by James Newton Howard

Disney's Dinosaur Credits by James Newton Howard


	29. First Look into the Upcoming Sequel

_**And now for a special preview on what's coming soon…**_

Hazel parted the dry shrubbery before her. The tiny thorns on the branches barely pierced her skin, but they were not enough to cause much damage. Small, ancient leaves kissed her skin like small fiery sparks, the result of being under the sun for a long time. While those were bothersome, the human was more concerned with what was ahead of her.

The landscape she looked upon looked like something out of a survival show. Barely any vegetation was around, save for a few trees and shrubs that were adapted to the harsh desert environment. Hills dotted each portion of the perimeter like a natural barrier. There were so many small rocks on the ground that even one misstep could lead to a bad day in the infirmary. Only a few insects flew around the landscape, which was more of a deathtrap to anyone else who was not from the area.

But the most notable feature was that of a single large pond off of the corner of Hazel's eye. While it looked shallow, it did provide enough water that could last for a whole season, depending on the weather. The dirt was clearly seen from the surface while mud holes dotted parts of the shore. Hazel knew from seeing so many TV shows that stepping in those would result in getting stuck. The sun would bake the mud, turning it into something similar to cement. Animals from modern day Africa had to face this sort of problem many times during migrations; the fight against dehydration. Yet they also had to face the risks of the watering hole, like the possibility of nearby predators.

The Asian looked all around the gathering site. A myriad of animals stayed close to the watering hole while a few chose to go to the few vegetation in the area. With so little resources, there was no doubt that these were migratory animals. Large sauropods with speckled hides of white, red, and gray resembling a spiderweb fashion gracefully meandered towards the only source of water. Their tails whipped in the wind like stiff wires. Hazel had done her homework on these sort of creatures even before she went to the park. It was not difficult to see that they were members of the family Diplodocidae. Their long necks, narrow skulls, and whip-like tails were all easy giveaways.

Close to them were creatures that were four-legged giants about the size of elephants. The plates on their backs along with their spiked tails were easy indications of a _Stegosaurus_. While the Stegosaur family had numerous members, most of which were in the Jurassic period, these gray-hued animals were the largest of their species, and very populous in North America. Their skin was olive-toned with faint dark grey stripes running vertically on their backs. Their plates were lined black on the edges while they faded into a near transparent olive in the middle. Those bony armor plates were just as Hazel pictured it from her books; small from the head, then getting bigger as they go along the back, then receding down to the tail in a perpendicular pattern.

While those were the creatures that were gathered around the watering hole, there was no sign of any predator in the vicinity. No large three-toed footprints, no skeletons of dead animals, not even any sign of dung. It was almost as if it was too quiet…

"Oh Sweet Maker…" a voice sounded from behind the human. Hazel only had to look back for a second to see that it was only her travelling companion Flia. The large pterosaur rolled her shoulders in a quick movement, causing uncomfortable popping sounds to break the silence. The flight they took towards this place had exhausted her, and it was not very surprising either. Flying around with a bag filled with more than enough supplies for a routine rescue mission would weigh down anybody. The _Pteranodon_ had not been going at her usual speed and had to flap her wings harder just to stay aloft.

Hazel was about to apologize about bringing so many supplies again when she heard something different come from her best friend's beak. "I've never seen any creatures this large before. Are you sure we are in the correct time period? It feels like we've come to an entirely different world."

"Oh we're in the right place alright," the girl smirked. "Also, if you've never seen creatures this big, then what about Baylene, Yin and her Flock?"

Flia scoffed, taking that into slight offense. "I mean large creatures OTHER than them. What are those large creatures that look like our titanic companions?"

Hazel narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing each and every feature of the drinking and grazing sauropods. From her knowledge on the Diplodocidae family, nearly all of the members were similar in appearance to each other. Trying to determine what they were just from observing them was difficult. However, Hazel had clues on the creatures and of the time period that helped her to an extent. They were somewhere in the southwestern United States, during the Late Jurassic period. The sauropods she was looking at looked like the famous _Diplodocus_ , except they were much longer than them and lacked the distinct vertebrate spines that ran along their backs. She would need to do a bit of research on them when they get back to Prehistoric Park, but she was pretty sure of their identity.

"I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, we're looking at a herd of _Supersaurus_. Translated to "super lizard", these are among the largest creatures to ever walk the planet in this time. Like Baylene and Yin, along with her Flock, they hail from the same evolutionary line known as the sauropods," Hazel guessed to the best of her ability.

"Alright, then what of those beings with the odd things on their back?" Flia gestured to the _Stegosaurus_ that were near the immense long necks.

" _Stegosaurus_ ," she continued her impromptu explanation of the Jurassic dinosaurs before them. "They're a unique type of dinosaur in this time that are characterized by the plates along their back and the spines on their tails. They're like the _Triceratops_ , the _Pachyrhinosaurus_ , the _Styracosaurus_ , and Url back in the Park when it comes to being armored. And these guys are the largest of their species."

"Incredible…now I see what you meant when you said 'Time of the Titans'…" Flia could only gape at the sight of the giant creatures at the watering hole.

The girl giggled at the sudden thought that came to her. Thinking of the best Alan Grant impression, she announced her introduction to the time period they were in. "Welcome to the Jurassic Period."

"Well, with all the formalities aside, we should be focusing at the situation at hand. Like why are we here? We should be searching for this so called ' _Allosaurus'_ from the air. It would be much easier to find them."

"Well Flia," she replied while ignoring that other reaction and scanning the area for any other signs of their targeted creature. "It would take a while to find it in the air. They could be anywhere. So I thought it would be easier to stay in one place and scope it out."

"How is that a good idea? That does not sound very productive…" the _Pteranodon_ mentioned with a large amount of doubt.

"Simple. With such a large amount of herbivores in the area gathering in this place for some salvation from the desert, they'll no doubt attract a lot of attention. And I'm sure you remember the herd's previous migrations too. Where there are herbivores, there are always carnivores nearby," Hazel simply explained.

Flia exploded with such ferocity that caused the human to quickly turn. "Are you saying that my herd is no better than these creatures here!?"

"No that's not what I meant! I'm simply stating the facts!" she defended with a slight wave of her hands, thus letting go of the bushes she held onto. The branches shook a little, even causing some leaves to fall to the ground. "Those _Velociraptors_ last year trailed us all the time when the herd was migrating to the Nesting Grounds. I'm sure you've noticed. Then I'm really not sure if the herd encountered any large predators in whatever feeding grounds they were at that were NOT the Nesting Grounds. It's really obvious! Large clusters of herbivores would no doubt attract carnivores."

The sky scout brought her wing up to her forehead, her fingers created a little smack that was near inaudible. To both of them, it looked like the equivalent of a face palm, except it was more of a wing palm. Her eyes were closed for a moment before she returned to her normal stature.

"Alright, you bring up a point. So is that why we're here?"

Hazel nodded and then turned to part the bushes once more. "Yup. All we need to do is check the place out. The predators would no doubt be just as tired as these guys, so they would like to come in for a drink too."

"We could do that. Observe the situation, then come in at the right time," the pterosaur offhandedly remarked.

"You know what?" Hazel cocked an eyebrow and released the branches of the bushes, allowing them to sway in the wind again. "I've got a better idea. We could just ask!"

The sky scout watched in complete bewilderment as her best friend rushed around the vegetation towards the partial Sanctuary and deathtrap. Her beak fell open and thoughts of the human getting harmed by the strange herbivores flooded her mind. The dust the kicked up from the girl's footsteps wafted in the air before settling back down. Rocks clattered as she passed by. Flia had no idea why her friend was acting this way, but her best guess would be the excitement of going on another mission.

"Hazel! Are you crazy!? Get back here!" she ordered. Going around the bushes, she found the perfect opening to take off. Jumping off and gliding on what little wind was in the air, she did her best to follow after the overexcited human, all the while avoided getting caught by the local vegetation below.

Eager to make her mark, Hazel quickly made her way to the prehistoric creatures at the water-hole. Most of the dinosaurs gave her questioning looks and whispered amongst their friends, perplexed at seeing their first human, while others grunted aggressively to ward off the human anomaly visiting their drinking spot. Hazel made sure to give a particular female _Stegosaurus_ guarding her children a wide berth when her tail swung back and forth a little too fast for the young woman's liking. When the young adventurer came to the drinking hole, the only dinosaur that wasn't completely bothered by her presence was one of the colossal sauropods. He towered over most of the creatures present, even among the other Diplodociades. His large and healthy stature tipped Hazel off that this individual was the alpha of the herd of sauropods here; or at the very least a close friend to the leader. He was currently craning his neck down to take long sips from the refreshing water of the desert.

When Hazel was close enough, she cupped her hands over her mouth and called out to the titanic herbivore. "Excuse me sir? I would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind?"

Not expecting company, the male herbivore gasped and then proceeded to sputter and cough out water that went down the wrong pipe. He grunted and shifted his focus in the direction of the young woman.

With her experience with both Baylene and Yin, Hazel had come to the conclusion that all sauropods had a type of nobility-like quality to them; since both Brachiosaur and Borealosaur females had an air of grace and sophistication to them. So she expected that this male would have the same or similar poise and composure with a sophisticated tone—

"Whoa, what's your bag dude?! I thought I told ya hodads to not be a total spaz when I'm in my mellow! You chicks know how majorly hacked I get when I freak out. So hang loose and keep it groovy, you dig?"

Or she could be totally wrong.

Instead of an eloquent and cultured voice that Hazel expected, the sauropod's speech was more akin to an unrefined hippie from the 1960s. The young girl didn't have anything against hippies in general, but the reveal of a sauropod that _wasn't_ the epitome of grace threw her off a bit.

"Oh, um… uh…" Hazel's mind was trying to catch up to the situation at hand from the unexpected culture of the Jurassic herbivore. Thankfully, the male looked down at the miniscule human in surprise and leaned in closer to observe Hazel.

"Check it out, a mini-dudette!" the male proclaimed, practically face to face with the young adventurer. "I've been trollin' round the Salt Plains all my life and I've never seen sumthin' as twitchin' as you babe."

Noting the peculiar tidbit of the male sauropod's dialect, Hazel quickly recovered and adjusted herself to the odd behavior before responding. "Hello sir, my name is Hazel. I'm a human that traveled from the future."

"That sounds radical man!" the male exclaimed as he straightened himself up. "Name's Hendrix, Future Babe. I'm the head honcho of my _Supersaurus_ brothers and sisters."

"Nice to meet you Hendrix. And this," Hazel introduced the pterosaur companion waddling up to meet them, "is my partner, Flia the _Pteranodon._ "

Gasping for breath from the heavy burden on her saddle, Flia huffed out, "Nice to meet you Hendrix…"

The _Supersaurus_ nodded his head in understanding. "Oh! You mean you foxes are goin' steady… I dig."

It took Hazel a few moments to decipher Hendrix's 60's lingo, and when she did her face flushed in embarrassment. "NO HENDRIX! Me and Flia aren't a couple or romantically involved in any way. Besides, we're both females and two separate species."

The hippie-esque _Supersaurus_ shrugged his shoulders dismissively, "Hey, don't sweat it you two. Ol' Hendrix is the grooviest Daddy-o on the Salt Plains! This Supersaurbrother ain't judgin' who wants to do the hanky panky with who."

The flight duo had to get the promiscuous implications that the sauropod was saying out of their heads before Hazel attempted steer the conversation back to less deviant thoughts.

"ANYWAYS! Hendrix, the reason me and my strictly _platonic_ friend came over was to ask if you've seen any _Allosauruses_ in the area, and if so where they were."

Before Hendrix could reply to the young Asian's query, a young feminine voice tore the alpha male's attention away.

"Lil' dipstick, you're harshin' on my mellow! Make tracks ankle biter!" The young voice shrieked in displeasure.

Hazel and Flia turned their eyes towards the disturbance along with Hendrix. Several yards out was a juvenile female _Supersaurus._ She had the same grey and red marking decorating her body like the other sauropods and was a little over the size of an adult Clydesdale horse. She was agitated and shifting from side to side to get away from her hidden source of her discomfort.

"Hendrix, who is that?" Hazel asked as the youngling sauropod berated the still obscured figure in front of her.

"That, Future Babe, is my lil' flower child, Woodstock. My pride and joy." Hendrix proclaimed. "And by the looks of things, my Baby girl is tangled up with the local heat."

Before the human girl could question what the sauropod meant by that, another young voice was heard in front of Woodstock.

"Look out _Supersaurus_! I'm gonna get ya!"

When Woodstock shifted to the side, Hazel and Flia saw an adorable juvenile _Allosaurus_ jumping and nipping at the sauropod girl. The young theropod was practically an infant if its small size was anything to go by; he barely reached Hazel waistline. His scales displayed a vibrant yellow and green striped motif, a partial camouflage perfect for an ambush hunter. His playful nature was causing the _Supersaurus_ flower child to groan in displeasure and slight fear.

"DADDY, HELP ME!" Woodstock cried out to her father as she shifted away from the source of her annoyance, only to be intercepted by the _Allosaurus_ again.

"Baby girl, what have I told you before? If some predatory skuzz is being a drag?" Hendrix wearily sighed as he left his rhetorical question open ended for his daughter to finish, having already reminded her multiple times in the past.

Woodstock turned her back to the overly playful predator, her tail swishing back and forth to gain momentum as she finished her father's personal quote he lived by. "Then I should send him packin'!"

With her tail swinging like a pendulum, the young _Allosaurus_ was entranced by the herbivore's appendage. The lazy swishing tail turned lethal as Woodstock violently lashed out. Hendrix's daughter's whip-snapping appendage traveled at sonic-boom levels of speed at the end of her tail. Her whip-like tail made a resounding 'crack' as it made contact with the baby theropod's face. The Jurassic herbivore's natural weapon exploded against the infant carnivore's face; easily shattering his snout and lower portions of his jaw. The young Allosaur barely had enough time to yelp in pain from his broken jaw before he was sent flying. He landed a few yards away and ceased to move. Woodstock huffed as she made her way towards her father.

"Oh my God…" The human woman whispered as her eyes were still locked on the juvenile theropod's broken form.

Hazel was horrified at the sheer brutality that the young _Supersaurus_ inflicted on the harmless baby carnivore. Flia looked as if she was going to throw up, for she too thought that the attack was unnecessary. Hendrix just nodded, proud that his youngling managed to take down one of the savage predators that hounded them.

"Most excellent Baby girl! You sure showed that skuzzy Allo a thing or two!" Hendrix bellowed out to his daughter with pride evident in his voice.

"Thanks Daddy!" Woodstock happily piped to her father.

' _That poor_ Allosaurus _! Is it dead? I don't see it moving!'_ Hazel internally screamed as she felt slight disgust that Hendrix _encouraged_ this brutal behavior.

"Was that attack really necessary?!" Flia cried out to the leader _Supersaurus._ Hendrix merely raised an eye-ridge.

"If a skuzz bag predator is messin' with my lil' Woodstock, then they should be lucky it ain't _me_ giving those monsters a pounding." The father sauropod rumbled threateningly, showing how serious he was in the safety of his little girl.

It was times like these that made Hazel cringe. She easily forgot that the Mesozoic denizens of the past did not have the same luxuries as the present had. In the wild, you had to be the meanest to get on top and survive. So Woodstock killing an infant before it could cause harm in the future was acceptable Hendrix's eyes. The leader _Supersaurus_ calmed down and resumed his relaxed tone.

"Baby girl, these two righteous babes here are Hazel and Flia, they're soul mates or sumthin' like that. They traveled from the future." Hendrix introduced, completely missing the stutters and outrage from the two travelers. "Future Babe, Flyer Babe, meet my Baby girl, Woodstock."

The young Jurassic herbivore bounded up to the two visitors excitedly. "Woah dude! Are you guys really from the future? That's outta sight and totally bitchin' man!"

Hendrix scowled as he nudged his daughter with his foreleg, causing Woodstock to stumble a bit.

"Language Baby girl." Woodstock's father chastised.

"Sorry Ol' Man…" The young sauropod said downtrodden.

Before Hazel and Flia could continue their conversation, one of Hendrix's herd members made a warning groan and proceed to lumber away from the water-hole. This was followed by the primal roar of a predator; it's call being heard throughout the area. The other residents of the water-hole moved away as well, particularly away from the Allosaur's prone form.

"Uh oh. Looks like the 'Boss Bitch' is comin' down from her castle to find her skuzzy spawn." Hendrix shifted his sights downward to Hazel and Flia. "You chicks might wanna book before she gets here. Come on Baby girl, let's cut out." The father _Supersaurus_ nudged his daughter along to get away from the coming danger.

"Aw! I wanted to know more about the future!" The juvenile sauropod whined as her father prodded her along. Looking over her shoulder, Woodstock spoke out one last time to the Prehistoric Park explorers. "Later Hazel! Later Flia! If the skuzz of the water-hole doesn't pick you guys for some gut waddin', we should totally hook up later. See ya future ladies!"

As the water-hole residents moved a distance away from the area, Flia and Hazel were the only two creatures left at the drinking spot. Hazel snapped out of her stupor and immediately ran to assist the maimed juvenile _Allosaurus_. Just as she was a few feet away, Hazel felt the talons of her partner clamp on her backpack's shoulder straps. The young woman's feet swiftly left the ground as she was now dangling in Flia's grasp.

"FLIA! What are you doing!?"

"Saving your life Hazel!" The pterosaur yelled back as she flew further away from the Allosaur's inert body.

"But that little Allosaur is going to die if we don't do anything!" Hazel shrieked into the wind. "The wound that Hendrix's daughter inflicted could be fatal!"

"Yeah well, I don't think that youngling's mom is going to be in a listening mood." Flia said as she gestured behind her. Hazel twisted her body in Flia's talons and saw what had the flyer so worried.

Standing at 16-feet tall was a full grown adult _Allosaurus_ female moving through the desert brush towards the watering hole. The Jurassic carnivore had a sandy yellow and rust-red color scheme that fitted the arid surroundings. She was currently swerving her head back and forth in search of something. Hazel could presume that this female was the juvenile's mother.

"Any-creature near the scene of a mutilated youngling and caught by the worried mother is just asking for trouble." Flia sagely remarked. "I can imagine that the results won't be pretty if you were anywhere near that youngling. Especially for a carnivore."

The human explorer sagged slightly in her friend's grasp. "But… we could help…"

"Not at the cost of your life Hazel." Flia swiftly responded. "Don't worry. I'm sure there will be other opportunities."

The girl took in a sharp breath before gazing back at where the fallen infant predator was. Like before, the creature lay inert, unmoving. A puddle of blood formed around the youngling's head at a gradual pace. Hazel feared that it may now be too late to save the poor thing, as it may have already died from blood loss and its injury.

The appearance of the large female _Allosaurus_ walking out of the arid vegetation made the blood in the girl's body run cold. Flia's warning of being caught by a ferocious mother with an injured infant once again returned to her thoughts. Had the _Pteranodon_ not taken her away from there in time, she would have surely faced her doom, even with her ability of Prehistoric Speak.

Hazel could do nothing but watch the forms of the adult and infant predators become obscured from increasing distance and the raised elevations.

"I'm so sorry…" she tearfully whispered in the winds. Hazel shut her eyes tight, wanting to burn that horrible image of death from her mind.

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Pain. That was all he could feel as he lay on the desert soil. The rocks that baked under the unrelenting sun stung the gaping wound he had received just moments before. The best way to describe the type of agony he was in would be getting bitten on the face by millions of fire ants, except on broken skin. The youngling could barely move his head, but only by the slightest bit. Lifting his head up only caused his newly shattered lower jaw to dangle like a vine on a tree.

Not only was he in so much suffering, but his keen senses caught another familiar scent in the air. The undisputable metallic and rusty scent of an animal's blood was what he smelled. There was a lot of it, meaning the animal was bleeding profusely. His heart skipped a beat when he opened his eyes, just to see the blood he was smelling was his own.

Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps rumbled to his ears. The ground shook a little, indicating the arrival of a larger creature. But was it friend or foe? The _Allosaurus_ may be a youngling, but even he knew that predators would be attracted to a fresh kill by the scent of blood. The child lay still and breathed sporadically, fearing that a larger predator was coming to eat him.

His heart relaxed when the figure of another of his species loomed over him. The creature looked much like him, save for the sandy hide color and the different markings on her face. The scent he picked up was that of his own kind, and this one he knew all too well. It was his mother.

"Mommy... help... please…" he begged to his parent for any form of salvation in a lisp. His new injury prevented him from speaking properly. It was as if he were speaking in a different tongue that only he could understand. But that did not matter; he needed his mother's help.

If there was one creature that could help him in any way, it was his mother. She gave him protection the moment he hatched out of his egg, and food to nourish him as he grew up. He eagerly waited for her to answer, or even to get into action to help him.

Unfortunately, he did not receive any form of support from her. When he lifted his head up to look at her, she merely backed away and gasped. The sight of his dangling lower jaw frightened his mother. He did his best to ignore the stinging agony that shot up his head when he moved by shutting his eyes tightly for a moment, but that was nothing compared to what was coming next. The youngling could only watch in horror as his mother took a few steps back from him.

"Mommy?" he called for her. Tears began to sting his eyes as he finally found that he would not get the help he needed. Things only got worse when he heard something that his mother would never say to him.

"Child, if there is one thing you should know, it is life is cruel and will not spare any creature," she told him, eyeing his hanging lower jaw. "Especially with injuries like yours."

The look she gave him was not that of a caring, protective mother. Instead, it was that of a giant peering down on an inferior, something she would give to any other creature that was not her own kind. "Your ailment is weakness. And I will not dote on you and tolerate this weakness. If you want to overcome your feebleness, then my final lesson to you, broken jawed child, is to survive."

The child's heart sunk, and his tears fell like a waterfall. His only form of protection and source of love turned her back and walked away from him. He was being left alone to survive...or to die. Worse yet was he had no knowledge on how to hunt, or what kind of dangers to look out for. He had no way to tell which creatures were friend or foe, or even how to find water. And with his new handicap...he had no idea how to defend himself.

"Mommy?" he croaked at the receding form of his mother. If she heard him, she gave back no answer.

"Mommy!?" once again, he called, this time louder.

No answer. The female predator reached the edge of the nearby vegetation and plowed through. Her whole body disappeared from view within a matter of moments.

"Please come back! MOMMY!"

Moments silence passed. No movement of the bushes and not even the sounds of any nearby herbivores could relieve the youngling of his suffering. As he gazed around, he found that all of the creatures in the area had left the vicinity. Not even a faint roar from miles around sounded. He was all alone.

It was at that moment something within him snapped. For the first time in his life, he had no one else to rely on. No one was there to help him. No longer did he see the world as a plaything for his form of recreation. Now, he saw the world as an enemy that could kill him without a thought.

His mother's final words stung his heart like the claw of a vicious predator. Survival was the only way to get by in the world...and to overcome his weakness. This new handicap was now a part of him, and he had to live with it for the rest of his days. If he was to survive, he needed to be strong.

The youngling gazed over at the side, over at his own shadow. His jaw hung below like a sore thumb. His eyes became steely, and he uttered to the world his promise.

"If my mother cannot help me, then no one can," he uttered as he watched his own shadow follow his movements. His jaw moved like a swaying branch in the wind.

As the youngling looked around for any place away from the spot where he was abandoned, his eyes fell on a lone bare tree up on a hill. The vegetation barely had enough greenery to shield out the sun's rays fully, but it did provide enough shade from the heat. It was a considerable distance from the watering hole, but it did provide a good vantage point for any creature coming in for a drink.

Using whatever strength he had left, the predator slowly hoisted himself up, albeit shaky. Thankfully, that young _Supersaurus_ did not take away his ability to walk. However, his head still hurt like hell. Slowly, but steadily, he made his way towards the hill.

His small journey felt like hours, but he finally made it. The hill was a bit steep for a youngling like him, but it was something he had to get used to. He was gasping for breath by the time he reached the top of the hill. As he set himself down under the shade of the tree, he gazed upon his hunting ground.

In the Jurassic carnivore's heart, he knew that hardships were coming his way. He would have to survive with the liability from his new handicap. He would not be able to eat properly for a long time. But the good news was that his new vantage point allowed him to gauge out prey to take down. He also noticed that the watering hole was surrounded by patches of greenery, most of which were a bit high or obscured for any other animal to investigate closely. The perfect places for an ambush.

He may be crippled now, but at least nature was giving him a chance to prove himself.

A warrior's journey had begun. But little did he know that many more surprises were coming his way. This was the beginning of a tale that would span even time.

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Meanwhile... Several miles north from the Watering Hole

 _Meat._

That was the word that struck the senses of another Jurassic carnivore. The scent was unmistakable. The metallic odor of blood coupled with bits of aged flesh were enough to send the predator's mind on high alert. Judging from the musty scent in the air, the prey must have been dead for quite some time. It was strong too, meaning that it was very close.

 _An easy catch…_

The female had been wandering this part of the desert for a couple days. Her name was Alyssa, and she was an _Allosaurus_. Many creatures in these lands feared her along with her kind. But unlike the _Allosaurus_ in the southern regions, her hide was a dark grey with black vertical stripes along her back. The rounded bony crests above her eyes were a deep shade of red, indicating her sexual maturity.

In her lifetime, Alyssa had seen many creatures, but never before had she ventured to the southern plains before, as her mother taught her. She was told of another part of her species that she only knew of as the "Yellow Skins". The predator was taught to avoid them at all costs, for they were more savage and reckless in mind than her kind, the "Grey Skins". Her mother emphasized to her and her siblings to never venture to the south, for they would encounter them. For whatever reasons they were, she took them to heart.

One last step and she was finally at the edge of the loosely dense forest. Before her was a dirt covered spring, something rarely seen in these parts. Skeletons of dead dinosaurs littered the shores, their bones stripped of their meat from long ago. Even the remains of a dead herbivore lay just in the middle of the shore, no doubt it was trying to get a drink before it realized it was too late. Alyssa had never been here before, but she could not resist the scent of meat from an easy catch. Following her nose, she caught sight of what drew her in over at her left.

A carcass of a young _Stegosaurus_ that was half buried in the mud at the shore. No doubt this creature died of exhaustion while it tried to escape from the earth's clutches. Her predatory mind told her that it must have accidentally wandered in to get a drink, only get itself stuck.

While she was taught in the past to never venture to springs like these, her hunger overwhelmed her sense of judgement. She had not eaten for days. Failed hunts had driven Alyssa to near insanity and resorted to finding easier prey to curb her hunger.

"At least it's better than nothing…" Alyssa told herself as she made her way towards the free carcass.

The trip to the large mound of meat went off without a problem. She did not get stuck as she had remained on the dry part of the shore. The rocks were not large enough to make her trip over. Better yet, there were no other predators to compete with. It was all hers.

At least, her trip there would have been perfect if some unknown voice had caused her to stop.

"Leave…" the voice, apparently an older male with a raspy tone told her. "Go away…"

Her predatory eyes brought her to an _Allosaurus_ , apparently one that was her senior by many years, lying next to the dead _Stegosaurus_. From far away, she thought that was some large, abnormal growth from its leg. The stench of carrion filled the air, and the familiar smell of her own species mingled with it.

The male looked just like her, except there were a few differences that caught her off guard. His hide was not of the dark grey like hers, but rather a light earthen tan. At first, she feared it was a Yellow Skin, but after close investigation, she found it was just another of her kind that was covered in dried mud. This one had been trying to get his fill for the day, but had gotten stuck in the earth's clutches. Already, the male was reeking of the stench of decay, and by the looks of it, he had been there for many days. Starvation, dehydration, and exhaustion were taking its toll on him.

"Leave...if you value your life…" he coughed out before resting his head back in the mud. His eyes closed, never to open again. Every ounce of his strength was gone.

"Quiet. I'm hungry," Alyssa huffed and passed him by. Water splashed softly as her feet made contact with the warm, mud-filled puddles. "I haven't eaten in days. And besides…"

"No pool of death will stop me from getting what I need," she said when she stood before the corpse and tore away a large chunk of meat. Like butter, it came off without much obstruction. All she had to do was pull it away with her gifted primeval strength.

Alyssa swallowed her prize, gulping down the meaty sustenance. The hunger pangs in her stomach slightly ebbed away. The meat and blood were dry, not really satisfying her taste expectations, but she accepted the meal nonetheless. If she was going to ease her intense hunger, she would have to remain there for quite some time. At least, until she gets chased out by another predator.

Again, she gorged on the dry feast. This time, she attempted to go for a larger strip of meat. The Jurassic carnivore anchored her feet into the ground and pulled. The flesh did not budge though. Alyssa grabbed onto a larger portion of it again and heaved, this time using her powerful legs to step back to help her in the attempt. But as she struggled against sun-dried carcass, something caused her to stop.

Alyssa released the meat, only to peer over at her feet. While one seemed to be partially in a puddle, her other foot was submerged in the thick mud. The _Allosaurus_ tried to get her buried foot out of the mud, only to find that it would not budge. Horror and dread flooded her mind she as realized what kind of predicament she got herself into.

"Oh no…" she gasped. Again, Alyssa tried to pull herself free. The movements of her other foot desperately stomped in the mud, creating frantic splashes. In the _Allosaurus'_ desperate attempts to get herself out of the ensnaring mud hole, Alyssa accidentally worsened her situation. Her free foot had inadvertently ended up in another wet portion of mud that was just as bad as the other one. Both of the _Allosaurus'_ feet were now firmly rooted in the muck, fastening Alyssa into the earth against her will.

"No no no no no NO!" Alyssa cried. The grey carnivore used her upper body strength to pull herself free, only to find that she was sinking deeper and deeper into the mud the more she struggled.

"Somebody! Anybody! Help me!" she hollered out, her voice drifted throughout the arid surroundings. She hoped that some creature, whether it was a member of her kind or not, would at least have the heart to get her out of this mess. It was a futile attempt, for not many predators venture to this part of the desert. And even they would most likely not want to help someone like her.

Alyssa kept calling out, only to be answered with silence to her plea.

"Please! I'm stuck! Someone get me out of here! I can't go out like this!"

Her eyes now stung. Tears fell down, dripping onto the patches of water. Her own drive to get food for herself had caused her to walk into a trap. And she ignored the warnings that old timer had given her. Alyssa's foolishness had driven her to her own doom.

She desperately searched around the shore for any nearby dry patches for her to try to get to. Unfortunately, the nearest spot of firm land was too far for her to reach. Even if she managed to get one of her feet out of the mud, it would only fall back into another portion of the death water. Alyssa could not find any means to aid herself, but as she looked around, she found something completely unexpected.

Another creature was hiding amongst the trees on one of the hills near the shore. Her keen predatory eyes discerned the being as one of her own kind. The figure was smaller than her, and the eye crests were a dull red, signifying immaturity. The broad musculature and musky scent the being was giving off indicated it to be a young male in his teens.

"You there! Please help me! I can't get out!" she pleaded to him.

The young male shifted in his position. He looked at her with wariness that could match that of a skittish herbivore. No reply escaped his maw. Even from Alyssa's trapped vantage point, she could see that he was making short breaths. Her better sense of judgement told her that he was nervous about approaching the stagnant pool.

"Please I'm begging you! I won't eat you, I just need someone to help me escape!" Alyssa sobbed, tears now streaming from her eyes at an even faster rate.

Finally, she got a reply. But it was something she did not want to see. The teenaged male shook his head fearfully and quickly turned for a hasty retreat. He was a youngster that had his whole life ahead of him, and risking his own neck to save a complete stranger was not on his list of priorities.

Her heart shattered into a million pieces as her only hope of escape disappeared into the jungle. Alyssa had known this would happen, her heart told her anyway. The world she lived in was cruel. To survive, one had to be strong. They had to observe their environment and quickly decipher their surroundings to make the right decisions to survive. The only thing that kept her alive was her instinct. Now, it was her instinct that drove her to her death.

Alyssa reared up her head to the sky, desperately screaming in the hope that anyone nearby would help free her from the muck...or swiftly end her to prevent suffering of a slow demise.

" **HELP ME!** "

 _Darksage: And cut! There we go, the first look into the next sequel. Got you there, didn't we?_

 _Marc: You think we revealed a little too much?_

 _Darksage: No, we revealed just enough. I'm sure you guys are pretty surprised right? Not only are we going to cross over with The Ballad of Big Al, but we are also including Dinosaur Revolution!_

 _Marc: Now I know what you guys are thinking; those stories happened 5 million years apart from each other and happened on different continents! We're aware of that. But we want to stick to being as scientifically accurate as we can._

 _Darksage: So we're going to be changing some of the genus in the story along with the ages of each one. Also, the story will take place in North America rather than Portugal. For example, instead of seeing Miragaia and Dinheirosaurus, you'll be seeing Stegosaurus and Supersaurus. We apologize for the inconvenience…_

 _Marc: Anyway, we wanted to give you guys a first look on what's coming. It's already under works at the moment._

 _Darksage: We appreciate your patience. Hope you guys enjoyed it and see you on the next issue!_

 _Marc: Later!_


	30. Sequel Alert

Hey guys, Darksage95 and Marc Ello Re-Yes here with a special alert. Prehistoric Revolution is now active. Please check it out! :D


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